Basic Instinct
by McMahonHelmsleyEraFan
Summary: Stephanie's attraction to Randy Orton is undeniable and she feels like she's fighting a losing battle. Will she risk her marriage to Hunter and possibly her career to satisfy her appetite? Steph/Hunter, Steph/Randy. Gets more intense and disturbing as you go along, you've been warned
1. Prologue

Here's another idea I tried and failed to suppress and deny. LOL. But yet and still, I ended up writing this last night. I'm not sure if this should be rated teen or mature, really...or what genre this would fall under. It'll be suspense, drama, romance (too weak of a word for what those two want to do I think). At first I wasn't going to post it until I had the entire thing written out (5 chapters or less) but meh...figured I'd see if anyone's interested in reading it first. If not, it's written in a way that can be a one-shot. Let me know by reviewing as this story goes along :-D

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><p>The memory of how he and Stephanie found their way back to each other was still so fresh in Hunter's mind. It was the moment that changed everything, even though it would be four months down the line, at Judgment Day until they spoke again. But the seeds had been planted at Raw's Tenth Anniversary after they'd accepted their "Shut Up and Kiss Me" award.<p>

_As soon as they were clear of the curtains, Stephanie stopped laughing. "I can't believe you did that! I was expecting a kiss and instead you show your ass...literally!"_

_Hunter gestured to himself with wide eyes. "Me? You started it by calling me a loser!"_

_Stephanie shrugged. She wasn't necessarily sorry that she did it. She was sorry that he'd gone and embarrassed her because of what she said. "Had to get your attention somehow. You were just standing there chomping your gum, looking like you didn't give a damn what I was saying."_

_Hunter smirked at her and dramatically chewed his gum just to attempt to irritate her. "Should I have given a damn?" He asked. "I mean were you really surprised?"_

_"I don't know! I guess not. I just didn't think you would still hate me so much after all this time," she admitted in a softer tone._

_He took a deep breath and chewed on his bottom lip. This wasn't a conversation he had ever planned to have. And it certainly wasn't one he wanted to take place tonight. The fact of the matter was that in their time apart he'd come to realize that he couldn't actually hate her. Not when he still loved her. But she'd ruined things after his return the prior year. He hadn't done much in the way of communication. But she had crossed a line and their relationship had been in such a bad place that it seemed pointless to try to fix it. He failed to recall the good times they had and instead focused on the mess so that he could go through with the separation._

_Stephanie had helped with that, given all the shit she pulled during their divorce. Not that he had been any better. It just seemed best to make the split official and for them both to move on. Sadly, he was finding that it was easier said than done. He'd watched Smackdown until the end of 2002. If he saw one more person kiss or hit on Stephanie he was afraid he would explode. So the rational choice was to pretend her show didn't exist at all._

_Hunter wasn't sure what Stephanie wanted. Part of what she said sounded like a question. The other part sounded like a statement. And he might have been imagining it, but she sounded sad. Instead of replying and possibly saying more than he wanted to, he simply nodded. Let her take that gesture as she desired._

_Stephanie sighed and reached out to touch his arm briefly. "For what it's worth? I'm sorry. For the way I acted when you came back, the lie and my behavior during the settlement...if I could do it all over," she shook her head and looked down at the ground for a moment. "Well to be honest, I wouldn't do it at all."_

_She didn't give him a chance to reply – which worked out well because he wasn't sure what he would have said anyway. His feet seemed stuck to the floor as he watched her walk away. Was she saying that she wouldn't have married him at all? Or was she just saying she would've handled the relationship differently? It was scaring him to think that he really wanted it to be the second option. That would suggest that she wasn't faring as well as she appeared to be either. _

Hunter had continued to keep his distance. But most of his resolve crumbled after she tracked him down and told him to be careful in his match against Kevin Nash at Judgment Day 2003. That night, he surprised both himself and Stephanie when he showed up at her hotel room in the middle of the night. He wanted to know what these damn comments of hers meant and was too impatient to wait even one minute longer.

They had a nice long talk about everything and decided they would start all over and do it right this time. They'd dated seriously and quietly until Hunter proposed to her that Thanksgiving. It completely threw Stephanie off guard. But Hunter's speech had began with how grateful he was that they'd been given a second chance. And to show that gratitude, he wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

When they wed in March of 2004, it wasn't a complete secret. She and Vince were on good terms again and a select few WWE employees knew about the wedding and were invited. They had simply chosen not to flaunt their relationship or even announce it to the rest of the WWE employees. So most of the roster simply had unconfirmed speculations. It wasn't that difficult to keep their coworkers uninformed because Stephanie mostly did backstage and corporate work. Though she'd legally changed her last name, she simply went by McMahon professionally.

During their prior marriage, people were constantly trying to interfere and screw it up. And that's when someone wasn't going after Stephanie physically in an attempt to get to him. So they had a good reason to keep things somewhat low profile. Plus their daughter, Morgan Cassidy Helmsley – affectionately known as Mac - entered the world just over a year later in May of 2005. That was an even better reason for Hunter to mostly keep the focus on himself, rather than do anything to direct further attention to his life outside of the ring. The couple's decision was compounded when their son Devin Joshua Helmsley – also known as DJ - was born in July of 2006.

That was all over now. The jig was up because his former protégé Randy Orton had gone and put his hands on Stephanie. At her insistence, he'd stayed out of the drama with her father while they were dating. It drove him insane to see her get hurt, but she was adamant that he leave it alone. That they stick to the plan. That they kept their personal life from entering the ring.

He'd honored her request.

At the Raw Homecoming, Stone Cold Steve Austin performed his finisher, the Stunner on her and her entire family. She'd sent a trusted associate to go and bring her husband to her. She knew he'd be having a fit. Upon seeing that she was fine, he reluctantly granted her wish to not do anything that would draw further attention to them.

Around two months later, they found out they'd be parents again. The entire night had been relatively amusing. Stephanie had showed up to Eric Bischoff's trial and said that he violated her by kissing her. She claimed that she still had the sickening taste of him. Later on, he ran into Stephanie and her father in the parking lot. It was difficult, but he had been planning to continue to pretend like he didn't see his wife standing behind Vince. But the old goat went and "introduced" them and left them on their own. They'd smiled at each other because they both had the same thought. That they looked like two schoolchildren with a crush.

Though she'd been exaggerating in her testimony against Bischoff, she actually did get sick that very night and Hunter made her go to the hospital. It turned out that she was carrying Devin and had been for about six weeks. They immediately agreed that she'd stay away from the on screen happenings throughout the rest of the pregnancy. Because it was sheer luck that she hadn't been pregnant when Austin attacked her. She delivered their healthy son in the middle of July.

Other than the occasional joke, they didn't outright acknowledge their relationship. They were able to relax and have fun with the situation because half of the roster officially knew and the other half strongly suspected that they were married. Neither half seemed to care much and to Hunter's relief, no one had attempted to harm his family to piss him off. It wasn't like they could deny that he had made children with Stephanie; not when both of the kids had ended up with light brown, curly hair and eyes that the parents liked to describe as "blazel." Meaning that there was a medium-golden brown color in the middle and a bluish green color on the edges.

But all of their planning went out of the window as soon as it seemed Orton had set his sights on Stephanie. The man was systematically picking her family apart and getting in her face often. Hunter knew firsthand how vicious The Legend Killer was. Hell, he'd helped him become that way. The last thing he wanted was for his wife to get hurt. He'd always been the protective type when it came to her. But he'd been able to honor her requests and let her handle things as she saw fit up until now.

Hunter had showed up to help Shane – primarily because if Shane got hurt, he'd be the only person able to really look out for Stephanie. But he'd arrived way too late. When he got to the arena, both siblings were already unconscious.

Just thinking about her lying there helplessly made him sick at this very moment.

Hunter sighed, rubbed his beard and got up from the rocking chair in Shawn Michaels' guest bedroom. He walked over to the king-sized bed and dropped a kiss against Morgan's cheek and then Devin's. He passed a hand over their hair before exiting. Though it was challenging, he'd resist the urge to call his wife since it was fairly possible she was sleeping in today. God knows she deserved it after the hell she'd been through.

Halfway across the country, Stephanie sat in their home office, spilling her guts on paper.

_I have something that I need to tell you. We share everything with each other. Partially because it's the right thing to do. And partially because our lack of trust in one other succeeded in splitting us up once before. It's a sad, bitter irony that the last time I kept a huge secret from you, was 7 years ago. Almost to the very day. _

_That particular secret was rooted in a total lie that I'd intended to help us save our first marriage. And this one? Well this is something that just happened. It was totally and completely out of my control. But now that it has happened, I know that I can't open up about it. At least not to your face. _

_How would I ever disclose to you that I'm...in lust with another man? More specifically that I want to throw myself all over a vile, vicious man who's even had the audacity to physically harm me?_

_Maybe I'm just a subconscious glutton for punishment. Maybe I have something against being in a stable, loving relationship. Maybe I just like to blow shit up once in a while for my own entertainment. I have no idea what my problem is. So I'm at a loss for trying to explain it to you. _

_I guess the beginning would be a good place to start. _

_Believe it or not, it all began when Randy Orton kicked my father in the head. I know it sounds horrible. But underneath my concern for my Dad, I felt something else. At the time I just wasn't sure what it was. Looking back, I can accurately peg the feeling as an intense sexual desire. But since I didn't know what the feeling was at the time – or wasn't yet ready to admit it to myself – I couldn't analyze it. Now that I've come to terms with my problem, I can pick it apart._

_The power. The domination. The...guts. This is what Randy exuded and what I picked up from this violent, violent action of his. And God help me I wanted him because of those things. The beauty of living in the present is that you can look back at the past and understand it. If you made a mistake or a bad decision, you can avoid repeating it. So while I reminisce it occurs to me that it was your feud with my father a decade ago that drew me to you. The confidence and bravery as you stood up to him and outsmarted him – it made you so goddamn sexy to me. _

_It's happening all over again, but the man isn't you. _

_So as I describe this, you must keep in mind that at the time I didn't know I hungered for him. I was consumed by my own grief and anger. I knew that I wanted – no. Needed. I needed to stand toe-to-toe with him and express my distaste for the despicable thing he did. _

_And he and I did exactly that. He didn't back down from me in the slightest. He smirked at me arrogantly and his eyes burned me down to the very depths of my soul. Daring me to do something that was out of my character. _

_At the time I simply thought that he was urging me to revert back to the cold-hearted, immature, vengeful bitch that I used to be. I thought he wanted me to break out of the mature, business-oriented woman I currently was and go back to my roots. But now I know that wasn't the case at all. _

_No, Mr. Orton was daring me to do something else entirely. I know now that he saw what I was refusing to see. He knew that deep down inside I yearned for him sexually. This knowledge was so hidden from me that I wouldn't have been able to find it even if I'd been trying to program a GPS for the location. But he picked up on it. _

_Because he truly is The Viper. A calculating yet primitive predator._

_And what I feel? Well, it's truly animalistic. If I were to give into my purest instincts, I'd probably fuck him in a dark alley somewhere. Maybe even in the middle of the ring. Yeah, it really is that strong._

_Make no mistake about it, fucking is exactly what we would do. Randy Orton is not the making love type. And with him I wouldn't want that anyway. Because I don't love him. Hell, I don't even like him._

_He's an arrogant, vindictive, sneaky bastard._

_He's...what you used to be, now that I think about it. And maybe that's the appeal. _

_Being with you- being your wife and sharing my life with you - comes as natural to me as breathing does. But this is something more. It's starting to rule my waking thoughts and sometimes haunt my dreams. I feel like I'm going insane. _

_Maybe I am._

_Who else would be torn between risking a great marriage, the welfare of two children and a recently redeemed reputation? And for what? One encounter with someone I'd never consider as a permanent fixture in my life? Someone that I truly can't stand?_

_None of this is your fault. It's all me. _

_I know it sounds cliché. But I truly mean that. We had our problems in the past but we're so good together now. You are my husband, my best friend and my lover. And you're perfect – absolutely perfect at all three of those things and so much more. I'm truly happy with you. There is nothing I want or need that you can't or won't give me._

_Except Randy, of course._

_Sadly, that's all I can think about these days. I'm just...I'm absolutely and totally consumed by this need for us to have our way with each other. It kills me to know that I'll probably betray you. And it kills me to know that you'll put your body on the line in my honor. Trying to defend me from the threat that is Randy Orton._

_Make no mistake about it, he is a threat. But the way he threatens my physical welfare is nothing compared to how he's threatening the sanctity of this marriage. The vows that I made to you five years ago. The fidelity that has never before been in jeopardy._

_But I don't think I'm strong enough to resist this pull...this impulse._

_I've been fighting it for longer than I'd been willing to acknowledge and have done a great job so far. But I'm suffering for it. Worse, our family is suffering. I'm distracted; I'm not completely focused on you and the kids. I'm there in body and that's mostly it. Our son and daughter are too young to notice. Hell, give them a paper towel to play with and they'll be happy._

_But I know that you've picked up on the fact that something very serious is up with me. I can see it when you catch me with a faraway look in my eyes. Every time you ask if I'm okay, I can hear the underlying question. You're asking me if we – if our marriage – is okay._

_By the time I gather up the strength to give this to you, I'm sure I will have done something terrible. You probably already hate me – even before reading this. You've probably taken the kids and started divorce proceedings. But I just want you to know this._

_I want you to know that I tried. I tried to let this go and I couldn't._

_Desire is the most basic human instinct. And I wrote this in advance because at the end of the day...I'm just flesh, blood and hormones. And every part of me is overcome with thoughts of touching and kissing him. Any and everywhere. As I write this, you should know that I've been hoping my fantasies are completely and totally off. But so far they're not. _

_Four weeks ago as of last night, Orton kicked Shane in the head and RKO'ed me directly onto the mat. And up until two weeks ago, I hadn't correctly identified my underlying emotions. But that changed when Randy went out to the ring and said that he remembered my scent and the feel of my soft skin on his. And when he said he wondered what I remembered...I instantly recalled that his skin was slick, smooth and soft. The faint, deep scent of his cologne entered my mind. It was so strong and powerful... it was like he was wrapped around me at that very moment. _

_I was glued to the television screen while he spoke. Because he was calling out to me. Of course he had to disguise his true meaning by riling you up about performing his finisher on me. But he was sending a message that was intended for me._

_He was telling me that he wants me and was trying to force me to consider that I secretly wanted him, too. And I don't. It's much worse than that. I think I need him...more than I've ever needed anything and it's the scariest, yet most natural thing to ever occur to me. _

_I'm sorry that I've hurt you and I hope that someday you can forgive me. If heaven shines down on me alone, maybe you'll even take me back. God knows I don't want our marriage to end. But I just...have to have this. I know you won't agree. But please try to understand before you judge me, Hunter._

_All the love my heart can contain,_

_SMH_

Stephanie sighed and put the pen down on the desk. It was so difficult to put her feelings on paper. They were simple yet complex at the same time. The complexity was in the fact that she was head over heels in love with her husband. They had successful, satisfying careers, a wonderful home and two kids. And to top it off, their love life continued to be off the charts hot. There was nothing more that she could ask for. Nothing else she wanted. Quite simply, her life was as perfect as any person's ever could be.

So it was maddening that she felt like she was utterly powerless at the task of restraining herself. To quell her urges and continue enjoying the happiness and satisfaction of her life as it was.

Complications aside, her need for Randy was easy. It was a craving – nothing more, nothing less. And cravings needed to be satisfied or else they never really went away. Internally, she knew that she just needed one experience with him and she'd be set. Life could go back to the way it was.

Except that her husband probably wouldn't take too kindly to her having a one night stand. Especially not to someone he hated. And she was clueless as to what the odds of Randy keeping his mouth shut were. He was married and a parent just as she was. But she knew she didn't want to lose her marriage. She had no idea how Randy felt about his. Hell, his hatred for Hunter might outweigh his love of his wife. If that was the case, he'd be eager to spill the beans.

In the leather office chair, Stephanie swiveled away from the large desk. With a heavy sigh, she stood up and headed over to the paper shredder. She dropped the handwritten document in and watched as it was destroyed. Not wanting to take any chances, she emptied the contents of the receptacle into a plastic bag. Her long legs carried her down the grand, winding staircase. She winced when her bare feet touched the cold, marble floor. She stopped at the closet just outside of the garage and slipped on some sandals.

She pushed open the door to the garage, took the bag containing her shredded confession and tossed it into the large trashcan.

Time was what she needed. She had to hope that this thing with Orton would go away on its own. If he just stopped screwing with her and Hunter, things might be back to normal. She wouldn't purposely be alone with him. In fact, she'd been keeping her distance from him as much as was humanly possible. It's why she stayed in the car during the previous nights' Raw. And why she'd hopped on a plane back to Connecticut the next morning instead of staying with Hunter and the kids at Shawn and Rebecca's house in Texas.

The excuse she gave her husband was that she hadn't been feeling well. And that wasn't a lie. Clearly something was very wrong with her. But as far as she could tell, there was only one cure. Her utmost need would be satiated, but everything else around her would crumble.

It wasn't worth it and she knew that. But as her memories tormented her with the details of his rock hard physique, piercing blue eyes and luscious looking lips, she quickly realized that her senses didn't care about the value of being with him. All they wanted was for their yearning to be satiated.


	2. Closer To Heaven And Hell

**IMPORTANT: MAJOR CHANGES TO CHAPTER 1. I ADDED HUNTER'S THOUGHTS TO THE BEGINNING OF THE CHAPTER RATHER THAN ALLOWING IT TO DISTRACT FROM THIS ONE. That way, the story is a little more balanced and not totally Stephanie-centric - even though it's mostly about her, his stuff is important too. Plus I needed to explain how they got back to each other. It just didn't flow to put it in this particular chapter. Nor did I want to delete and totally repost the story. LOL. Sometimes edits take a while to show up so hopefully it's there before you guys dig into this one.  
><strong>

So! I was in Vegas this past weekend and somehow the idea for this chapter popped into my head. I literally typed it out in an email to myself on my cell phone LOL. Now that I'm back home I added more to it and edited out the typos (hopefully I got them all lol). Love the reviews, keep em coming if you all want me to continue on with this one. I continue to flirt with the line between teen and mature. Stuff is implied/reminisced about but nothing super graphic.

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><p><em>Harder.<em>

_Faster._

_Deeper._

_More._

_We were going at it so furiously that I couldn't manage a comment that was more than one word long. For the most part anyway. I was also capable of placing the word "Oh" in front of your name and a couple of choice curse words. It's a stroke of luck that your parents have the kids until Tuesday and that this hotel messed up our reservation and ended up upgrading us to the top floor at the end of the hall. There's no way I wouldn't have woken up the kids or been responsible for someone filing a noise complaint against us. _

_But I just couldn't contain myself. I couldn't shake the desire to have things be...rough. I guess that might be a word for it. And it's not that we haven't had rough sex before – sometimes we just don't have the damn patience to make love. But before today there had always managed to be at least one tender look, moment or whisper. Even if it's as simple as me twisting around to kiss you on the mouth. Or joining my hands with yours when I'm in control. Or telling you that I love you right before we become one._

_I didn't do any of that. So this is something else. Something that surpasses anything I've ever done with you physically. Something so powerful that I didn't at all focus on our connection – on our love. All I wanted was the sensation of reckless abandon. And I didn't even want to build to it slowly._

_I...don't know what is happening to me. Normally it's variety that I love. You know how I like it; alternating speed, depth and pressure. Maybe that's why you and I fit together so perfectly as lovers. You enjoy variety just as much as I do._

_So you must be utterly confused on my behavior this morning. _

_I had a dream...of an explicit nature. I was in my office in Stamford alone and then a certain someone barged in. Things moved along so quickly. Buttons scattered across the floor, panties were ripped. Hickey's and claw marks were being given as I was taken._

_The sounds our bodies created - as I was bending over my desk...just taking it like the whore I was being at the moment - well, they were drowned out by my screams._

_I destroyed just about everything on my desk. Figurines and coffee mugs were broken and papers flew everywhere. Well, the papers I didn't crumble into a ball, anyway. _

_I neared my climax._

_And then I woke up. _

_I sat up in the bed with my heart racing and my hands fondling my own breasts under my tank top. When I realized what the hell I was doing I quickly moved my hands and buried my head in them instead._

_Next to me, you cleared your throat. My dream was so shocking that I hadn't even realized you were awake and sitting propped up against the pillows. I took my hands down and turned to face you._

_"Sounds like one hell of a dream," you said against my ear in that thick, gravelly voice of yours._

_I was speechless. Because you were right and wrong at the same time. Yes my dream had been intense, so very real and so very good! But I knew that you assumed you were the man starring in it._

_You don't know how much I wish that was true, baby. But it wasn't you. It was...it was Randy Orton._

_I didn't want to lie to you. And I recognized the look in your darkened eyes. I wanted to forget about the dream. Forget about Randy entirely. To top it off, underneath my anxiety I was...extremely horny. _

_So I wrapped my arms around your neck and pulled you into a scorching kiss. I made you skip over our usual foreplay._

_Because as soon as I heard your voice, you dominated my mind. That's a pattern I'm beginning to notice. There are no impure or inappropriate thoughts of Randy as long as you're relatively close to me. If I'm not actually touching you, it seems that being close enough to smell you or have your voice right in my ear is enough. _

_I wanted you inside of me so badly. I thought that if you pushed far enough, hard enough or fast enough that you'd drive out thoughts of anyone else except you...for good. To the point where I wouldn't need to experiment with all the ways to temporarily keep Randy out of my head._

_I never wanted to let you go. Never wanted you to stop. If there was a way to stay wrapped around you forever I'd do it._

_But hours later when we were both too spent to go at it again, I collapsed stomach-first against the bed with my limp legs hanging over the edge. You fell at my side about a foot away to give us room to cool down. _

_I'm not very good at hiding things from you. So you easily heard me sniffling and knew I was trembling because you felt the mattress moving slightly underneath you._

_You requested that I turn over and look at you. I knew I was busted so I did so. Your previously dark brown - nearly black from lust - eyes returned to being hazel almost instantly. Your forehead tensed with concern. You asked why I was crying. You didn't wait for an answer. Instead, your face twisted up in horror when you asked if you'd hurt me, right before you frantically began to apologize._

_I told you that you didn't hurt me. I wanted to say that I was hurting me. That the situation was. Because as soon as you went too far away, the dream began playing in my head again._

_You weren't convinced that I was fine and you quickly drew me up and over into your arms. You dropped a kiss on my forehead and I threw my arm over your waist._

_I smiled then. Because the memory of the dream receded and in my head there was only you._

_"I'm fine, baby. Just never leave," was my desperate plea. _

_If that were actually possible everything would stay perfect. But I knew that as soon as we broke apart it would go to hell again._

_But that moment? It was heaven. And for my sanity I wasn't going to acknowledge that it couldn't feasibly last forever. I refused to consider that we'd eventually have to shower, eat and live life. While that isn't my fault, I'm still so sorry for that. I wish you could stay tangled around me for eternity. But you can't. _

_So in the grand scheme of my sick obsession, our moments together aren't enough. And even though I'm still discovering the specifics of my thoughts and behavior...it feels like it never will be enough. But whenever you're close to me, my brain and body will allow me to believe it is._

_We share so much, Hunter. We share the last name Helmsley, a son, a daughter and a life together. We share everything. I love that and I love you more than words could ever say. Beyond that I'm truly, ridiculously, hopelessly in love with you. I hope that I can find a way to overcome this on my own. Something that's permanent and independent of me handcuffing us together. If that fails, then I hope I can find a way to express it to you. I would need you to understand that it's not as simple as some crush. It's much more than your basic attraction. It breaks my heart that my dreams and thoughts are so fucking explicit. So I know that it would break yours, too. But if I have to tell you, you need to know exactly what's going on with me._

Stephanie's head snapped up when she heard the water in the shower come to a stop. She placed down her pen and stood up from the desk in the hotel room. She looked around frantically. How the hell was she supposed to dispose of today's attempt to explain the situation with Orton? There was no paper shredder around. And if she ripped the page to pieces by hand and tossed them in the trashcan, Hunter would probably see it. Hell, its presence might make him curious enough to reassemble the large scraps. For composure, she licked her lips.

Then she was hit with a bright idea.

She grabbed the paper and walked over to the balcony. She pulled open the door and stepped out. The balmy, spring breeze blew her hair across her robe-covered chest. Her slender hands tore the page into several random pieces. Then she ripped those pieces even further. She lifted her arms and spread her hands.

Blue eyes watched as the light wind carried the scraps at multiple heights and speeds. Her expression was sullen as she watched the graceful scattering of her confession. They made disappearing look so easy.

If only she could make this thing with Orton go away just as easily. What she wouldn't give for whatever was wrong with her to fall away so effortlessly. Instead, she was stuck in her current predicament.

Her life was absolute perfection until this craving for The Viper struck her. That's exactly what happened...the sick things he had been doing were the equivalent of bites. On their own, none were doing much damage. But now it was like the venom was corroding her brain.

It's not like guys hadn't flirted with her or wanted her before. And the guys were actually pretty damn good looking. But at no time during her first or current marriage had she worried she would be unfaithful. So Randy must have done something to her. Maybe he found a way to drug her drinks or food. Maybe he injected her with some drug when he RKO'ed her. Maybe while she watched his speeches from the back, it had been laced with some strange subliminal message for her.

And now she was completely losing her mind and possibly on the verge of ruining her life.

Hunter's voice startled her out of her bleak thoughts. "I see your legs are working again," he quipped from directly behind her.

_Oh thank God, _Stephanie thought. Hunter was out here. She smiled genuinely and reached behind her, to tug his arms and bring him closer. "They are," she confirmed.

He leaned forward, planting his chin in the crook of her neck. He rested his hands on either side of her, against the balcony railing. "A pity you didn't join me in the shower."

Stephanie turned around in his arms and arched an amused eyebrow. "That would've been the most ineffective shower ever. You could barely hold yourself up and I just plain couldn't stand."

"True," he agreed.

"That's not the case anymore though," she observed. "And I _could_ use some help washing my hair and my back." She placed her hands on his chest and pouted.

Hunter laughed and grabbed her hands, walking backwards towards the bathroom. "Guess it's a good thing I didn't get dressed yet, then."

Stephanie nodded her head in confirmation and Hunter continued smiling at her. He sort of felt bad for keeping her in the dark. But he just wanted them to enjoy the day. He didn't want it to be ruined by her worrying about him tonight.

Before he stepped out to find Stephanie he'd received a call from the General Manager of Raw, Vickie Guerrero. Randy Orton and Ted DiBiase had issued a handicap match challenge to him. And he accepted.

His wife would make herself sick with worry if he told her about it now. He could already see the emotional toll the entire situation was taking on her. Sometimes she simply wasn't present. Like something was weighing heavily on her mind.

When this thing with Orton was finally over, he was going to take her on a vacation. Their five year anniversary had been a couple of weeks prior. Stephanie's neck was still a little bit sore from the RKO and Hunter was hellbent on getting revenge. So they postponed their anniversary trip. It seemed like the right thing to do given the circumstances, but he couldn't help but feel bad about it. He hoped that Stephanie didn't think he was placing business above her, like he had a few years earlier.

In their first marriage, he certainly wouldn't have been accused of being all that attentive. But he was determined not to repeat any of those mistakes. So far he hadn't. He and Stephanie were so in tune this time around. They had enough differences to continue helping each other grow. But they were similar in all the ways that contributed to them having a solid, lasting relationship.

Hopefully she wouldn't be too upset with him for not telling her about the match. She would find out tonight just like everyone else.

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><p><strong>AN: If you haven't yet, go back and read chapter 1 again. I made major changes to it! Feel free to comment on them as well as this chapter :-D**


	3. Blurring the Lines

Shannon, haha I haven't forgotten the other fics. But you know how I get when I'm on a roll with an idea! Gotta strike while the creative iron is hot! "LOL at how Steph's release of deception comes of as graceful. Cruel irony from Hunter's perspective. I also like that idea of his presence overcoming her lust for Orton. So if she ever tells him and they argue about it, if she says it's just a trance that can be controlled...she's sorta right" ~ EXACTLY what I'm stressing in this one.

Caty, I worry that if I have anything too horrible happen, you'll do something horrible in one of your fics! So I'll tread lightly - lmao at that and the fact that you want to hug poor Hunter. I'm glad the intro in ch. 1 did what I intended :-)

Nicole, glad I can throw in a curve ball every now and then!

Thanks for the reviews, girls! Somehow, even after working a full 8 hour day I managed to write this out. It picks up almost exactly where the prior one left off. And the next chapter will pick up from where this one leaves off. So it's three chapters covering one day. I did it this way so that it's not all too much to take in one chapter (that would've ended up being 6000 words plus lol). I'm trying to have Steph tell her story via letter in each chapter. I'll keep that up for as long as it flows with this one. ENJOY and let me know what you think!

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><p><em>I'm fairly certain that he'll be here tonight. I wonder what tricks he'll have up his sleeve this time. The two of you are going back and forth as if you're playing some violent game of cat and mouse. Technically speaking, the two of us have the power to send the entire roster after Orton. But that's not what you want.<em>

_First of all, we're more mature than that. We no longer send people out to do our dirty work for us. Not unless they're an immediate ally. In which case we work with them rather than just sending them out on our behalf._

_Second of all, this is extremely personal. So you want to handle it personally. And on your own. I'm still not convinced that's the best idea since Orton has two other guys that seem prepared to follow in his footsteps._

_Much like Orton used to follow in yours. I really am starting to think that's the appeal. He looks nothing like you, but he's just as horrible to people as you used to be. Actually, I think he might be even more immoral. And it was the mean streak in you that initially caught my attention and made me want you more than I've ever wanted anything else in my life._

_So it follows that if Orton has those same characteristics, magnified to the tenth, that I'd react similarly. Only worse._

_That's the only explanation that I can come up with. And it would force me to admit that maybe I haven't changed at the core in these last ten years. Then again, neither have you. We simply made room for each other and our family. It's like we have our business selves and our personal selves. At the start of things – the very beginning, not this new beginning...we said we'd keep our business and personal lives separate._

_But we blurred those lines and after screwing it up horribly we eventually got it right this time around. Professionally, we kept our relationship under wraps. And we've had five blissful years together. That's double the amount of time we lasted in our first marriage. And this time, we've been happy throughout the entire relationship. Rather than fighting for half of it. We've beaten our record. I'm so proud of us._

_Yet, the blurring of lines is threatening our marriage yet again. Because I find myself drawn to someone that I shouldn't be. Someone that you hate; that my family hates. Someone who is basically an amplified version of the professional side of you. Someone that I'm not sure I can resist. Much like when I couldn't resist you – except it's multiplied by many times._

_And you have no idea._

A knock on the door startled Stephanie out of her adulterous thoughts. Quickly, she scribbled all over the paper so that it was unreadable. Then she ripped it haphazardly and stuffed it behind the couch. "Come in," she muttered disinterestedly while staring at the floor as she put the pen back in her purse. She heard the slow footsteps but didn't bother to raise her head to see who had come to see her. Quite honestly, she didn't give a damn who it was.

"Hello Stephanie."

Her eyes widened and she slowly raised her gaze from her bag. Because it was on the path to his face...and because it was directly in her line of vision, she couldn't help but notice his crotch area. She swallowed hard when she realized he was sporting an erection. _Oh God, _was her panicked thought. Hunter had wandered off to catering and no one else was around to help her. She was in here all alone with a clearly aroused Randy Orton. And damn it to hell, she knew that she would probably soon follow suit.

In an attempt to project some semblance of control, she stood up from the leather couch.

Stephanie nodded curtly. "Randy."

An arrogant smile graced his handsome, yet dangerous features. "Don't be afraid of me," he said lowly.

She stuck her chin out defiantly and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not." _I'm afraid of what I might do with you. _"You might have attacked me and my entire family. But I back down from no one."

He grinned at her and nodded appreciatively. "I admire that in you. It's sexy. Very, very sexy."

Stunned by his blatant admission of attraction, she was unprepared for what happened next. Randy reached out and ran his index finger along her cheek. The touch itself wasn't what made her feet refuse to work. It was the look in his eyes. It wasn't gentle or warm. It wasn't loving. It was...predatory. It was hypnotic. Almost like he was somehow brainwashing her to give in to a request he hadn't verbally made.

His expression remained unchanged for the most part. But he did briefly close his eyes and inhale deeply. "I want you so badly. And I know you want me too."

For some reason, the comment was effective in snapping her out of the strange trance he had her in. She moved to the side and away from his hands. "I don't want you," she disagreed. _I crave you. And that's far worse. _The dream she had this morning began playing in her head again. The blood beat in her ears while she tried to focus on something else. But it was difficult when the object of her intense lust was standing alone in the same room with her, voicing his sex-filled thoughts. Stephanie rubbed at her temples in frustration, trying to force something else to enter her mind. Something like her husband or children.

With considerable effort, she relived her morning with Hunter. Even as she forced the memories to play for her, she considered that it might be a bad idea. If she thought about it too long, she was sure to become turned on. And while it was great that she'd be hot for the right reasons, it was bad that it would happen while in the presence of a man she was attracted to that wasn't her husband.

Hunter could walk in at any moment. And either a bloodbath would ensue between him and Randy or marital turmoil would begin. Most likely it would be both. And she'd already had to bail him out of jail just a mere two weeks ago, for breaking and entering and assault. Randy had dropped the charges simply because he wanted to face her husband for the title. She had no doubt that if that hadn't been the case, her husband would be fighting for his freedom right now.

So no unsanctioned fights could happen. Especially not ones that she had the power to prevent. "Get out," she told Randy.

His eyes rolled around deliriously and he inhaled her once more. "Mmm," he mumbled. "I love it when you're being commanding. Tell me what you want me to do to you."

"I already told you what I want. I want you to get out."

"You and I both know that's not what you want."

"It is."

"Then why haven't you moved my hand from your chest?"

Stephanie looked down and her eyes widened. Sure enough, that's exactly where one of his hands was. "Don't touch me!" She roughly slapped his hand away and moved over to the dressing room door. She yanked it open and gestured for him to leave. When he simply stared at her she huffed. "Fine. If you won't leave, I will." She was surprised when she was yanked back into the room by her arm. The door slammed shut behind her.

Before she knew what was happening, she was trapped between Randy and the door. His hands were planted above her head against the door. He kept his body away from her, so she wasn't yet being crushed. "You're not going anywhere."

Stephanie narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you going to do? My husband will kill you if you try to rape me."

"Your _husband _will be more pissed off at you than me. Because I'm going to take you. And you're going to let me. And I win."

Stephanie pressed the back of her head into the door and shook her head. "Touch me and I'll scream."

A laugh was his initial reply. "You will. But it will be in pleasure." To prove his point, he removed one of his hands from the door and started to trail his hand up her inner thigh. It took a moment, but Stephanie used both hands to push him away right before she slapped the hell out of him.

Randy stumbled back a little and grabbed his cheek. The crazed look on his face scared the shit out of her. His eyes were angry and cold. But he still smiled at her. Completely freaked out and worried about what he'd do to her now, she made her exit from the room before he could stop her.

She ran down the deserted hallway in search of Hunter. She didn't stop but she heard Randy clearly when he said, "See you in the ring tonight, Steph."

Was he insane? There was no way she was going out to the damn ring with him. She wasn't a wrestler and these days she wasn't a valet either. There was absolutely no reason for her to be out there. She'd stick to Hunter's side as if she was permanently glued to him. If he ended up having a match she'd lock herself in the dressing room.

Her thoughts were jumbled. She was afraid and confused, but undeniably hot and bothered. She'd applaud herself for not letting Orton have what he wanted from her, if it wasn't written into marital vows that she wasn't supposed to cheat. She didn't deserve praise for remaining faithful, as she had promised to.

Stephanie rounded the corner that would lead her to the dining hall.

And bumped directly into a hard, yet soft object. She muttered out an "Oomph" and started to slide down whatever the surface was. Then a pair of hands grabbed her arms and kept her from falling. She would recognize the feel and scent of him anywhere. She sent a small smile up to her husband and blushed shyly. "Hi."

One side of his mouth turned up in the tiniest of smiles before his eyebrows drew together with worry. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Stephanie's eyes watered almost instantly. She buried her head into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Hunter's body tensed up as he felt her tremble lightly right before he felt the wetness seep through his shirt. He rubbed her back soothingly. "Baby?" He questioned. "Please tell me what's wrong."

She sniffled loudly and muttered into his shirt, "Orton. He cornered me in the dressing room."

His body went rigid with anger. But he was grateful that she only appeared rattled, rather than physically harmed. He pressed a kiss into her hair. "I'm so sorry, Steph. I shouldn't have left you alone in there."

Stephanie pulled back to look at him, wiping at her eyes. God, she was embarrassed about this emotional outburst. If she could get a better handle on herself, her husband wouldn't be feeling bad right now. "Don't be ridiculous. You had no idea he'd be that bold."

Hunter set his jaw and shook his head, staring at the wall behind them. "I should've planned for it anyway. He'll stop at nothing to screw with me."

A light bulb went off in Stephanie's head. Something Randy said to her made this all seem like one big game. Was it a coincidence that he was pushing her buttons specifically during his feud with her husband? It was understandable that to Hunter, Randy was simply saying that all of this was an attempt to get to him. But if his advance on her was purely about seduction, why was he bothering to mention Hunter?

Stephanie placed a hand on either of his cheeks and looked deeply into his eyes. No, she didn't think her struggle to shake the draw she had to Randy was completely gone yet. But it certainly was becoming more clear to her that she shouldn't and wouldn't just give in so easily. She loved her life far too much and she found that forcing herself to remember that was effective in overriding the strange hold Orton had on her.

And the thought that she was being used as a pawn made her angry. The fact that she had thought she couldn't do a damn thing to stop herself from cheating made her sick inside. It wasn't like her to feel that she was utterly helpless. Tonight's encounter had helped her realize that she wasn't. So she was going to do whatever it took to remain faithful to her husband and committed to the life they'd built together.

"We won't let him screw with us. I'm your wife and you're The Game. We'll find a way to beat him at this pathetic one he's started."

Hunter pecked her on the lips. "Damn right we will. Starting with facing him and his remaining crony in this handicap match tonight."

Stephanie's eyebrows raised in astonishment and she pulled back from Hunter. "Excuse me?"

Hunter winced and rubbed the back of his neck while he tried to think of a good explanation that wasn't a lie. Something that would smooth things over. "Huh?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. So this was why Randy said he'd see her in the ring tonight. He must be assuming she'd accompany Hunter to the match. Well he assumed wrong. She'd stay in the back, just like she told herself she would. It wasn't a big deal. But her husband keeping the match from her? That was a big deal. "Hunter, when was this match made?"

He sighed and his arms dangled at his sides loosely. His wife was pissed. "This morning, right after I got out of the shower."

Stephanie shook her head in disapproval. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to be worrying about it all day."

"Some of this is my fault and I'm sorry for that. But we're in this together, Hunter. Please don't keep this kind of stuff from me."

Hunter nodded, apologized and opened his arms for a hug. Stephanie placed a hand on his chest to stop him. "Oh no. You're not getting off that easy. You've lost your mind accepting a match where you're seriously risking the safety of what belongs to me. So no hugs or kisses for you." She wasn't joking but she kept her tone light. His punishment wouldn't last for very long. Only until he made it through tonight's match.

When Hunter's face fell into an adorable, but completely serious pout she laughed out loud at him and reached up to pinch his cheek. "Aww, I made my baby sad." Hunter narrowed his eyes at her playfully and tried to swat her hand away from his face, but she grabbed it and began to lead him back down the hallway towards their dressing room.


	4. Because You Breathe

**Edited the first part of chapter 1...again. **I realized that I forgot to address the other times Stephanie got hurt and he didn't show up to help. And I threw in the 2005 on screen encounter, briefly addressed the onscreen teasing of the relationship and edited their marriage and kids' birth years. The prior timeline would've meant she was pregnant when Austin Stunned her at the homecoming. This is what I get for being so anxious to get to the actual plot/good stuff - winded up skipping over somewhat relevant details of the past. Ugh. Haha. Not only that, but my original relationship timeline of events made it seem like they'd been engaged from Nov 2003 to Mar 2005. I am glad that this fic is so captivating that no one noticed (or mentioned...idk which hehe) those slip ups :-D

So as a present for the AWESOME, AWESOME reviews and as an apology/peace offering for making some of you go back and read the rewrite of the rewrite of ch. 1 (LOL) I decided to post this early. Technically it was done last night. In my efforts to just tweak and polish it up, I ended up adding a whole lot more to the hhh/smh interaction. Le sigh! Lol. ENJOY and let me know what you think.

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><p><em>I knew exactly what Randy was trying to do when he handcuffed you to the rope. He was baiting me to come down to the ring. I already knew that he wasn't going to let you go...when it comes to stuff like that I'm mostly a realist. So I continued to sit on the couch staring wide-eyed at the monitor with my fingers practically digging into my scalp. <em>

_"There's only one person that can save you now. And she had better hurry," was the not-so-subtle demand Randy Orton made of me._

_So I had to try, Hunter. There was the smallest chance that by going out there, I could spare you from receiving any more punishment. I jumped up from the couch, unlocked the door and sprinted down the hallway. _

_The first thing I saw when I emerged from backstage was DiBiase restraining you and Orton measuring your head with the sledgehammer. I was already struggling not to cry from the terror that I felt for what that maniac was threatening to do to you._

_And I knew that me coming out there wouldn't help. It wouldn't change what he was planning to do to you and it would land me in deeper shit with Orton. I knew that but I hoped I was wrong. I also hoped that at the very least this would show you how much I love you. That I'd put myself in a dangerous situation to try to help you, even if I knew I'd be of absolutely no use. That I'd sacrifice my safety if there was the slightest opportunity that it would keep you out of harm's way._

_The crowd cheered when they saw me and at first I kept my distance from the confrontation. Legacy backed away from you to stare menacingly in my direction. As soon as you saw me, you yelled at me to get back. You tried to convince me you had it under control. And then Orton kicked you in the head. _

_You immediately fell to the mat and you didn't have the strength to make it back up. Orton gripped the sledgehammer tighter and told me not to listen to you. He had said it was up to me now._

_I had no fucking idea what to do. I had no idea what he wanted from me in that moment. No idea what I needed to do or say to make him leave you alone. As if such an act or statement existed._

_He brought the sledgehammer down so that it was hovering right by your skull again. He measured the distance of the swing, staring at me the whole time._

_I came closer to the ring begging and pleading for him not to hit you. He raised the weapon high above his head – still staring at me – and I immediately jumped on the apron and continued to cry and ask him not do to it._

_Orton lowered the weapon to his side and started walking in my direction. The only thing I could manage to do was gape at him with my mouth open. I couldn't read his gaze and he still had the damn sledgehammer. Was he going hit me? Was this his form of retaliation against me because I rejected his sexual advance and slapped him? That's the part that I left out when we spoke about his visit to me earlier. I'd been running away from him and to you. _

_You started moving around and trying to fight against the cuffs. Randy's movement towards me was purposeful...and scary. Slowly, I lowered myself from the apron and to the floor._

_It was then that I noticed Rhodes and DiBiase were directly behind me. I simply stared at them while I tried to figure out if they'd really hurt me. When they lunged, I panicked and reached for the middle rope to pull myself back up onto the apron. _

_And my head ended up in Randy's arms. I waved my arms and kicked my legs frantically in an attempt to get myself out of this mess. I could hear you commanding him to let me go. You threatened him with various forms of bodily harm._

_I could hear all of this because Randy didn't immediately hurt me. Instead he just held me in his grip while I struggled like a damn fish on a hook._

_I was still scared shitless of what he was planning to do to me. And to you. I wasn't foolish enough to think that his intention to harm me would make him leave you be. _

_Still...somewhere in there, the craving came back. I found myself admiring the curve of his biceps. I could feel it. I could feel how smooth and firm they were. Despite the fact that he'd just physically exerted himself, I could still smell his enchanting cologne. I do in fact prefer the feel and scent of you. Make no mistake about that. But these are the things that I noticed. _

_He was holding me tightly just as I like it – though it's generally not having a man's arms around my neck that tickles my fancy. _

_I'd reached the point between absolute fear and absolute desire. I didn't even know such a place existed until last night. I hit him anywhere that my hands could reach. I know for sure that I managed to hit his arms and his legs. I knew the moment of action was coming. Knew that there was no one to stop it. No one to help me. _

_As he dragged me up and through the middle rope, I was all too aware that I had very little time left. Beyond that, the position was really making it hard to breathe. Yet my senses were still attuned to those details about his body. _

_Maybe it was erotic asphyxiation. I couldn't breathe but I was focused on the things that drive me insane with lust. Did you know that when the brain is deprived of oxygen, it creates a semi-hallucinogenic state called hypoxia? Is that what happened to me? Had I been hallucinating? Cause God knows how much I hate that bastard. _

_He's taken out my father and brother and now he's trying to take us out. Because of his actions, we were publicly forced to admit that we're married and the asshole had the audacity to mention our kids. He's a rotten, despicable human being and he's going to burn for his actions._

_Yet my body had reacted positively to him._

_But as my hits against his arm became weaker with my dwindling oxygen, my senses were sharpened that much more. I could hear you breathing, but I couldn't see you through my curtain of hair. I felt a sense of pride that through the situation, I could still pick you out. I was still connected to you even though Randy was the closest to me physically. From my accomplishment, the lack of air and the sensation of falling, I felt euphoric right before my world went black._

_When I woke up, you were there next to me...your head was lying near my side and you were holding my hand in yours. As deeply as you usually sleep, I'm surprised my moving around woke you up. But you did and you smiled at me and kissed the hand you were holding. You wanted to know how I was feeling._

_But I hardly cared about myself, I was just so happy that you weren't seriously injured. You told me that I had been diagnosed with a mild concussion. I demanded to know what the hell happened. You didn't want to tell me; you thought it would upset me. But I was insistent. Reluctantly you did an online search on your phone until you found the clip of the incident. It's amazing, yet horrible how much stuff ends up on the internet. You didn't want any part of me revisiting history. You stormed out of my hospital room._

_I watched you drop to the ground in tears right after I was slammed unconscious. That broke my heart. Randy's drooling over the destruction he caused...was sickening. He crawled towards you like some damn ravenous animal. _

_He seemed to forget all about me while you reached for him in an attempt to kick his ass. _

_But then you reached for me...and he remembered I was there. _

_When he turned me over to lie on my back, you grabbed my ankle and dragged me closer to you. So Randy attacked you and pulled me even further away from your grasp._

_A sick feeling crept into my gut while I watched the replay of this. You were so incredibly upset at what was happening. And he was eating it up because you were unable to get free. I can't imagine what you must have felt, to watch that madman tease that he was going to hit me with the sledgehammer._

_But then he did something that just might be worse._

_Orton crouched down over me and stared at me as if he was in one of those stupid shampoo commercials that makes it look like cleaning your hair transports you to Nirvana. As he lowered himself, I was mortified. At first, his crotch wasn't too far from my face._

_I wasn't sure I wanted to watch what occurred next, but I didn't shut the screen off. I needed to know what he did to me while I was knocked out. I had to know what he'd made you watch._

_My eyes widened and I touched my index and middle fingers to my own lips...when I watched Randy's lips touch mine._

_The sick, depraved look was back on his face while you two stared each other down. I'm fairly certain you threatened him with death. Then he hit you with the sledgehammer. You couldn't fall completely because you were still handcuffed to the rope._

_He stared at me longingly again and inhaled deeply. Then back at you with an evil smile. Then back at me._

_Then he got out of the ring and appeared to only care about the weapon that was still in his hands._

_Jesus, even Cody and Ted were looking at him like he's totally gone off the deep end. I think they're right._

_Is that because of me? What he did last night is considerably worse than anything else he's ever done. Did I send him over the edge?_

_Damn it...I knew coming out there only had the potential to have things remain unchanged or make then impossibly worse. I'm not sure if you're mad at me or if your declaration that you needed to "get some air" was just as simple as that. I can't take you being pissed off at me, on top of everything else._

Hunter's voice floated down the hallway. He was demanding to know when he could take his wife home. Stephanie raised her head slowly, not wanting to aggravate her injury. She quickly ripped and then crumbled the paper in her hand. She threw her long legs out of the bed and stood up. As fast as she could without making herself dizzy, she padded into the bathroom. She threw the shredded paper in the toilet and flushed it.

For appearances, she washed her hands.

When she heard her door open, she poked her head out to greet her husband. But she moved too fast and immediately winced and leaned against the doorframe for support.

The rage that had been clouding his hazel eyes vanished and was replaced with a softer look. He walked over and placed one arm around her waist and used the other to hold her hand until she made it to the bed.

Once she was settled, she smiled at him appreciatively and touched his cheek. "I'm so sorry for what happened last night."

"It wasn't your fault," he immediately clarified.

_Yes it was, _she thought guiltily. But she was glad that he wasn't angry with her.

"Mac and DJ saw the show," he admitted lowly.

Her eyes widened and her mouth parted in shock. "What? Why would your parents let them watch, with all that's been going on?"

"They'd put those two to bed and then gone to sleep themselves. Apparently our clever soon-to-be four and three year old were playing possum. The TV was already on the right channel...my parents had been watching some show earlier. So all Morgan had to do was grab the remote and turn it on."

Stephanie shook her head. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. And Hunter almost sounded like he'd been in the damn room when it happened. "How do you know all of this?"

"My parents called and let me know that our kids woke them up at eleven at night, screaming their heads off. My mom figured we needed to rest; that's why they didn't call last night. But Mac and DJ cried until they fell asleep. She called my cell while I was out, because the pair of them woke up crying. I talked to them and calmed them down some. But it won't really sink in for them that we're fine until they can see us. You especially...at least they heard my voice...and saw me moving around some after that coward nailed me."

Stephanie shut her eyes tightly. She couldn't imagine how scared her kids must have been to watch their parents be mauled like that. She opened her eyes and bit down on her lip to try to contain her emotions. "When will I be released?"

"They like to keep patients for 24 hours if there's been unconsciousness. You've only been here for almost half of that...but they believe our home circumstances are good enough for us to leave today. As long as I keep a close eye on you."

"Good! Let's get me home. I hate hospitals!"

Hunter placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her from getting up. "We're in Missouri, Steph. While traveling won't cause any long-term damage, it'd make you feel like shit. The cabin pressure changes and all of that."

"Can't I just take a bunch of drugs beforehand?"

"It's a four-hour flight. If you start feeling bad, they're not just going to let you off."

"Hunter, our babies are beside themselves. And we haven't seen them since Sunday night. We were supposed to fly home this morning," she reminded him.

Hunter raised his voice a little bit, to make sure his point got across. And because...quite frankly, he was in a very shitty mood. "Don't you think I know that? I want to see them just as much as you do. But I didn't make it in time to stop Orton from giving you an RKO. He came after you while I stepped out to get something to drink...who knows what that freak would have done to you if you hadn't got away," he rambled. "Then I got my ass handed to me and had to watch while you put yourself in danger over me last night...and our kids were watching...and you got injured. And then he took advantage of you," he added with his voice cracking. "And you're in a fucking hospital with a concussion, for Christ sakes! And he did all of that just to pay me back for turning on him half a decade ago. He's hurting you because of me, with skills that I taught him. How do you think that makes me feel, Stephanie?" He questioned rhetorically. "And now you want me to let you hop on a plane and watch you hurt some more? It's not going to happen," he said fiercely.

Stephanie simply blinked in response, stunned by her husband's rambling and angry outburst. Yet again he was both right and wrong at the same time. This was about her. At least partially. She didn't know how much or how little she actually had to do with this situation. Mostly, it seemed like Orton was just doing all of this to get to her husband. There was no doubt that he was succeeding. The disheveled mess he currently was, testified to that.

But it seemed like he wanted to do more than just throw a wrench in Hunter's career. It seemed like he wanted to actually cause long-term, lasting damage. Hunter wasn't just some opponent to him. Not someone he just intended to beat once and that was it. He seemed to be out to destroy her husband and all aspects of his life entirely. He was going after his title - that was professional. But he was also trying to cause her to be unfaithful - that was deeply and insanely personal.

And Hunter had been in some pretty damn personal rivalries before. But nothing like this. Despite the fact that he was still somewhat of a "bad boy" in the business, everyone generally knew and respected the line he drew between his worlds. Everyone except Orton.

He'd waited for this opportunity. She realized that now. It wasn't until she took over the Raw brand that he directed his attention to her. She hadn't heard a peep from him during the few times she randomly popped up over the years. He'd left her alone while she and Shane were running things behind the scenes. But as soon as she physically showed up, she was on his radar. Then her father had returned and she'd seriously been considering disappearing from her active role. Maybe Orton could sense that - he seemed to be able to sense quite a few things about the people in his surroundings.

So he had to know that by punting her father, he was making sure that she couldn't leave. He'd forced her to stick around simply so he could attack her. But he made sure that his attacks were ones that would only have her out for a few days. Her brother and father - well, he made sure he put them out indefinitely. There was probably a reason for that. Everything the man did was deliberate and calculating. There were no mistakes or coincidences with him.

She reached her hand up to Hunter's temple, rubbing gingerly around the area where the sledgehammer had left a nasty purplish bruise. She swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay...no traveling. Maybe we can fly everyone down to see us instead. Your parents could help watch Morgan and Devin, since you'll have to baby me and all."

Hunter expelled a tense breath and nodded. He didn't mean to blow up at her, but everything had already gotten so completely out of hand. He was starting to feel like he was failing at being a husband. Stephanie didn't deserve for any of this to be happening to her.

Stephanie twisted her hands together nervously while she appraised the defeated look on his face. "We need to talk," she admitted reluctantly. Then she decided to backtrack and start again. "No. Me...I need to talk to you. About everything that's been happening. I've tried to tell you...I've written letters but I keep losing my nerve. I didn't give any of them to you. I'm going crazy and you're getting hurt. And I'm getting hurt. And the kids are upset. And I can't take it anymore!" Stephanie grimaced and clutched her head in her hands, drawing her knees upwards.

Hunter's expression changed from confused to concerned and he placed one of his hands over hers and rubbed. He used his other hand to run through her hair. That always seemed to help calm her down. And right now that's what he needed. If she stayed calm, her head wouldn't bother her so much. Consequently, he wouldn't be as bothered. "Look at me," he requested gently.

She raised her head and her eyes were watery and pink. She sniffled and blinked rapidly to contain her tears.

"Just take it easy, okay? There's nothing that we need to talk about other than you getting better and the accommodations for our family. Those are the priorities and everything else can wait."

Stephanie knew better than to argue with him on that. And truth be told, she definitely agreed since this conversation wouldn't be a pleasant one. So she nodded and dropped the subject for now.

Hunter pressed a kiss to her forehead before he pulled away from her and walked over to look out of the lone window in the hospital room. He spoke very lowly...but this was her husband and she was more sensitive to his words and actions than most. So she heard it when he hissed out through clenched teeth, "I swear you'll pay for what you've done, Orton."

Against her own will, her mind replayed the scene of Orton kissing her. She touched her lips and allowed herself to dwell on the fact that his had been pressed against hers for about five seconds. She wondered what it felt like. Would she have enjoyed it if she'd been conscious?

Mentally, she tried to will Hunter to return to her bedside. She shouldn't be having these kinds of thoughts. Hell, she just plain didn't even _want _to. She needed Hunter next to her so that she could relax...and just _be_. One rule of concussions that she knew, was to rest the brain. Having a mental war occurring in her head was certainly not a road to recovery.

Stephanie squinted with the pain the effort caused...but she was successful. If she blocked everything else out, she could hear Hunter breathing right now. It reminded her that that's what she focused on before she lost consciousness last night. Randy Orton was all around her head – literally and figuratively. But she'd felt at peace and the pain from the DDT had evaded her because her connection to Hunter was unbreakable. He was in her heart _and _her head. And that was much more powerful that whatever cockamamie spell overcame her with Orton at times.

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><p><strong>AN: **If you haven't, see the **edits in the beginning of chapter 1**. They'll clear up any confusion I unintentionally caused LOL. And just so you all know, this will be the last chapter that directly follows the storyline. At most, I'll draw some confrontation material from the rest of the feud. But 90% or more of the story from here will just be my own ideas - mostly because in the storyline Stephanie became absent and Vince, Shane and Batista got involved. I plan to take this story in a...darker direction you could say. Stay tuned!


	5. Inconsequential

Hey guys! This is written in the first person from Randy's perspective. I figured that since we're halfway through the fic we need to know what's going on in his sick head. LOL. Plus, chapter 4 was probably the end of Stephanie's letters. So this might be the last time we go directly into a character's head like this. I've been so tired lately and do apologize for the lack of updates. I wanted to get BL out first since that's been neglected the longest. But the idea for this manifested itself first. When the muses call, I answer - unless I'm too tired to hold up the laptop! ENJOY and let me know what you think. Thanks for the support on this one so far! And lurkers, your thoughts are encouraged and welcomed, also - all 100 plus of ya. Haha.

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><p>I sit in my empty living room staring into the empty fireplace. I'm not sure how many hours I've been like this. But my thoughts are so very complex and so very simple at the same time. I didn't know that was possible. But it really all comes down to two very simple terms.<p>

Want. Need.

Both words have four letters. They're related to each other. But they have very different, yet subtle meanings.

I need food, but I want a sandwich. I need to put some fluids in my body, but I want orange juice.

Need informs want. Need is a biological phenomenon that is then processed by the mind and turned into a specific want.

I need Stephanie Helmsley. Or is her last name McMahon-Helmsley? Or just McMahon? Since I'm not exactly in the "in-crowd" I'm not privy to those intimate details of her life. But that doesn't matter. Last name aside, I just need her. I want her. I crave her. I...require her.

I glance up at the mantle above the fireplace. I study the array of pictures there. There are other things that used to take some precedence for me...having a successful wrestling career and being a good father and husband. None of that is the case anymore. None of that matters.

All of those things became distractions. Something to pass the time while I tried to figure out what to do about my situation.

Lately, I've done some extremely bold and heinous things. And for someone like me – someone known as The Legend Killer – that's a pretty strong statement. Somehow, in the last couple of months I've managed to outdo myself in the "horrible actions" category of my life.

I punted both Vince and Shane McMahon in the head and have put them out indefinitely.

I did it so that I could have her all to myself. When she was the only one appearing on Raw in a managerial capacity I could go to her directly. But I didn't take proper advantage of those opportunities. Instead, I squandered them.

My best guess is that this all began right after Stephanie fired Chris Jericho on national television.

I feared that she would do the same thing to me, so I went to talk to her. Women...tend to give in to me. I can't really remember a time when I didn't get what I wanted from a woman in some form or another. Stephanie had leaned closer to me; had even brushed my kneepad with the tips of her fingers. She'd tossed her hair and smiled. Though I'd always noticed that she was a beautiful woman, she was elevated to a higher level then. A level that I didn't know existed. She leaned forward and so did I. I was put in a trance, by those ice blue eyes of hers. I am the Viper and it felt like she was a snake charmer. But I still thought I had her right where I wanted her. I thought that my feelings of awe were reciprocated and she was going to try to fuck me right there in her office after she shut off the cameras. I thought this plan was confirmed when she assured me I wouldn't be fired. Right until she accused me of sucking up to her, before kicking me out of her office.

Prior to this encounter, I'd had minimal contact with her. She ran things from a distance and I pretty much kept mine. Mostly because I know who she's married to. Her father and brother are hot-headed as well, but much easier to...deal with. When I decided to go try to charm my way into her good grace's I'd been figuring that the only reason she wasn't favoring me was because she'd only dealt with me from afar.

I knew that if I was up close, personal and charming with her, I'd get what I want.

All I wanted was to not be fired. And to maybe earn a small semblance of favoritism, rather than punishment for my recent actions with Legacy.

It wasn't until she turned down a request I hadn't verbally made, that I knew I needed her. I was offended, insulted and pissed off that she could look at me like I was gum on the bottom of her shoe. That she'd treated me like I was worth absolutely nothing. That my presence was of no consequence to her.

That's not the way most women respond to me. And if I'm honest with myself, I was upset that even though I hadn't ever entertained the idea of cheating on my wife...I realized I would have if Stephanie was going to be my partner in the crime.

It was then that things well and truly started spinning out of my control.

I wanted to hurt her emotionally and I wanted to corner her. I had no doubt that she'd pass me off to her father or brother for discipline in the future. So I decided I'd take them out when the opportunities presented themselves.

I wanted to knock her senseless for her audacity to regard Triple H – my former mentor and longtime arch nemesis – higher than me. That she'd readily given her personal life to someone who tried to ruin my professional life. That's something I never quite got over; Hunter's betrayal. Half a decade has passed and I still don't feel like I got my payback. I could possibly accomplish that by harming her in some way and blaming it on him.

Yet, on the other hand I wanted to roughly grab her close to me, turn her on and have her beg for the feel of me. Then send her back to her husband as damaged goods. That would be the sweetest form of revenge. It would keep Hunter up at night and haunt him for the rest of his life. Much like what he did to me.

While I kept my urges at bay consciously, my subconscious had other ideas. I...called out Stephanie's name while my soon-to-be ex-wife and I were having sex.

Samantha had already berated me for having put my hands on a woman. If I'd kick two of my bosses in the head and ram another, female boss' head into the mat, what kind of person did that make me? Who was to say that one day my "IED" wouldn't make itself known while in front of or directed at her or my daughter?

I wish I could regret having brought the intermittent explosive disorder thing to light. But I don't. If anything I'm glad I gave Sam all the reasoning she needed to leave me. As it stands, I'm allowed to visit my daughter. If I fight for full custody, Sam will bring the IED and my violent, televised actions into play and have my kid taken from me entirely.

Like I give a shit. I'm not going to fight to keep either of them. Honestly, I'm relieved that those two distractions are gone. Now I can concentrate on the thing that needs my attention.

Stephanie.

I want to cause her distress as much as I want to make her feel good. I don't need her to like me. I don't need or want her to love me. I just need her to cry out for me. I need her to admit to me and to herself that I'm better than her husband in the ways that count to me.

Hitting her every time she's near me isn't the best way to go about that, obviously. But I can't help myself around her!

The only reason she ever comes into my presence is to check on or try to save a family member. It pisses me off! Her cries for me to leave the ring and leave her brother alone made me see red. I stood there in deep thought. I wondered why and how she could stand there, looking at me, but only being concerned for Shane. And I snapped and gave her an RKO. I couldn't believe what I had done, but I couldn't turn away. Couldn't stop staring at her face. Even in unconsciousness she's captivating.

And then Hunter came and ruined my moment with her. It completely sank in that I'd just started a complete and total war. But I couldn't back out now.

Because I still wanted to destroy Hunter. I wanted to destroy Stephanie, too...but in an entirely different way. I decided that I could do both. I would do both.

Yet again, she surprised me by turning me down in Hunter's locker room. I was mad that she brought her husband into our lustful little conversation. Was pissed that even with my hand palming her breast, then with me blocking her exit, she could still resist me. She could still think of her bastard husband.

So I...got her to notice me by handcuffing Hunter to the ropes and beating the shit out of him. It worked and she came down to the ring.

I wasn't planning to hit her. I wanted her to admit to wanting me, right in front of her husband. I would have blackmailed her into a kiss. And then after that amazing experience she wouldn't be able to deny me any longer. Maybe she'd even leave the ring and arena with me right then and there while her husband remained chained.

But I lost sight of that goal once she came down to the ring. First of all, her body looked amazing...I can't believe she's had two kids. Her face and hair were flawless. And despite our earlier interaction, she wasn't giving me the attention that I wanted. So I lost focus.

Yes, she was looking at me.

Yes, she was speaking to me.

Yes, she was begging me.

Yes, she was crying for me.

But it was about him. I curl my hand into a fist and hit the armrest of the couch. Because I remember that it was about Hunter. Isn't it always? The only reason Stephanie spared me her thoughts and words was because she was trying to protect that son of a bitch. She was trying to save him. She'd risk bodily harm trying to do those things. She saw something in my gaze. At the very least, she recognized a partial truth. She fully realized I wasn't actually going to let him go. So she tried to leave. I saw red again because she wouldn't stay...for me alone. I wasn't enough for her. At that moment, I felt sick to death of everything in this company being about Hunter! Sick of him having the things I need and want! My breathing increased...

And I gave Stephanie a DDT right in front of Triple H. Those few moments with her were incredible. Being able to smell her perfume and feel her soft hands touching my body – even if she was hitting me futilely – were amazing. I kept looking at Hunter – who was yelling and pleading with me to let her go – strictly because I wondered how he got so lucky. How did that manipulative, backstabbing, selfish jerk manage to land a woman this perfect and mesmerizing? And why wouldn't that woman give me the time of day unless I forced it on her?

Once she was on the ground, Hunter tried to pull her away from me. He tried to steal our moment...again. Like a possessive child, I yanked her far from his grasp. I turned her over onto her back. I stared at those lips of hers; they were slightly parted so that the shallow breaths could escape. Then I was hit with a bright idea. I had beckoned her to the ring so that I could kiss her. And whether she was awake or not, I was going to get one. So I kissed her unconscious body.

I squeeze my hands into fists at the memory and finally stand up, trying to keep myself from getting any more excited. I rub my hand over my head and wonder where she is right now. Hopefully I didn't injure her too badly and she's out of the hospital.

I start walking up the staircase, trying to get my head straight. I'm fairly certain I won't see Stephanie again until Wrestlemania. This time I won't screw it up by losing control and attacking her.

Then again...I'm not sure if that matters. I stop in mid-stride and rub my palms together in anticipation. Yes, I would prefer for her to be a willing and active participant in our imminent escapade. But if my only two real goals are to blow Hunter's world to piece's and to have Stephanie in bed...who's to say the specifics matter? If I get those end results, do I really need to judge the means?

Because nothing actually matters other than revenge. And Stephanie. How convenient it is, that I can kill two birds with one stone.


	6. Watch Over You

I've given up on trying to keep a consistent tense/POV throughout this story. Everyone's view is important, for starters. Plus with some scenes it's just easier and comes across better if I write it in the first person. So now we get to hear from the husband! Enjoy and let me know what you think!

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><p>Hunter's POV<p>

I end my round of phone calls; to the airline, to the hotel, to my parents. My Mom and Dad will be bringing the kids into town so that we can all be together.

I walk down the corridor leading to my wife's hospital room. And one thought consistently plagues me.

This isn't what Stephanie signed up for.

It's what I've felt...deep, deep down inside. Every time Orton got near her I had the sinking feeling that it was really about me. I just didn't want to admit it to myself. I didn't want to admit that my actions 5 years ago were so bad that it'd come back to haunt me now. Especially not when my own wife is the one suffering for it.

But now? I can see it written in her face. Sometimes she feels so far away from me. And then other times she clings to me as if her life depended on it. That's not my Steph. My Stephanie is a more balanced individual. Those were my first clues that something very serious is going on with her.  
>If I'm going to be honest, I'm not sure I want to know what it is. Conversations that begin with the four words, "We need to talk" are never positive ones. I knew that whatever she had to tell me was going to be bad. To confirm my thoughts, Steph got so upset that she caused herself a concussion-induced headache.<p>

I know it was cowardly. But I ratted her out to the doctor about her pain and I exaggerated just a little bit. He made her stay in the hospital an extra night, just like I knew he would.

Carefully, I open the door to her room and step inside. I practically tiptoe my way to the bed and sit on the edge. I'm trying my best not to disturb her. She needs the rest.

And quite frankly I'm drowning.

In guilt, in sympathy...in love.

I love Stephanie so much. It hurts me to see her in pain. And it kills me to know that her pain is all my fault.

The night that we met properly...that hotel bar back in 1999... I'd come over to cause mischief for a McMahon as usual. But when we were finally face to face I didn't see a McMahon. I just saw her. I saw the sadness in her eyes over her family. The premature regret she was feeling over her imminent wedding to Test. But I felt something else. Her heart somehow bonded with mine. Because I sat there and listened to every word she said. There were no wisecracks or jokes. There were no sarcastic or rude comments in my head. My thoughts were only of what I could possibly do to help her. To take her pain away. I wanted to do something to make her smile. Make her laugh. Make her...happy. My eyes were glued to her the entire night. But it wasn't what she thought it was. It was desire...but of a different variety. The desire to be everything she needed. To this day, I think that she sensed that. She could feel what I felt and it freaked her out because she was engaged to someone else. And even though he wasn't what she wanted, she'd made a commitment she didn't want to break. She didn't want to be a cheater. So she hastily gathered her things and announced that she should get back to her room. She reached into her purse to pay her tab. But I put a hand on her wrist to stop her.

I told her not to worry about it and that I'd take care of her. I wasn't just referring to paying for her drink and she knew that. We've been intertwined ever since that night.

My lips twitch with a smile from the memory. I reach out to move a few wayward strands of hair out of her face, allowing my fingers to linger on her skin just a little bit longer than necessary. She lets out a low sigh and leans in to me even more. She trusts me implicitly – in the romantic sense - and is drawn to me even while she sleeps. That used to make me burst with happiness.

But today? Today it just makes me feel like shit. Because I don't deserve it. She knows why and so do I. It's because I haven't kept that very first promise I made to her.

During our first marriage I didn't take care of her emotionally. I took her for granted and ignored her on numerous occasions. She's never admitted as much, but I know that I broke her heart back then. It's a hindsight thing. The only reason I know is because during the last 6 years I've seen just how amazing she is when her heart is full and undamaged. I'm happy that I'm a better partner and could undo the damage that I did. And I'm so glad and grateful that we've both learned from our mistakes and bad decisions.

One of the things we learned was that it was better not to flaunt our relationship, flex our power...and blatantly mix business and personal for our own self-gain. We've built our dynasty's separately – her on the corporate side of things and me on the fighting side of things. Sure, we support each other's endeavors behind the scenes...but we're paving our career paths individually.

Or at least we tried to. And now I'm wondering if I haven't made another mistake. Maybe it was foolish to try to separate ourselves in that way. Maybe things would've gone differently if we hadn't all but hid our relationship. Maybe if she'd have been by my side every day like before, I would have thought twice about some of the things I did. I would've considered the impact that my actions would have on my family. On her. But I didn't. I thought that the mild, thin separation would be enough to keep them safe. And it wasn't; it didn't keep her safe at all.

Stephanie stirs and her eyes finally flutter open. She smiles at me, but something about it is off. I just can't pin it because I'm too out of sorts. She leans up to give me a quick peck on the lips as a good morning. Then she gingerly climbs out of bed and heads for the bathroom to shower and get ready to go. All we have to do is sign her discharge papers.

My eyes are fastened to her as she walks away from me. I see her tense up and shield her face when she flicks the bathroom light on. Her head is still bothering her. Her gaze connects with mine for a brief second as she's closing the door.

God, I wasn't even in the arena when Randy attacked her. I should've been. I should have anticipated and I should've been there. Words can't express how sorry I am that I didn't arrive in time to help.

But it's not enough. He came after her two more times. And the second time she was hurt again...and violated. It happened right in front of me and there wasn't a damn thing I could do to stop it. To make matters worse, our children had been watching. They were so extremely upset, shaken up...practically traumatized.

I know that Stephanie loves me. I know that she trusts me to try to do right by her and the kids. But I'm not sure if that's enough. Not when you pile on the complications that being with a guy like me brings along with it. Really, they're just the complications of being paired up with a successful wrestler. We fight, we make enemies purposely, we backstab, we do awful things. That's just the way it goes. Stephanie's always known that. Because she knows me and she grew up in the business.

But she can't just think about herself anymore. She has to think about our kids. She has to think about how all of this is affecting them. I'm thinking about it too, of course. But I'm doing the best I can with the set of cards I've recently been dealt. But since they're the ones paying for my behavior...they've got to take various perspectives.

Stephanie said she wrote me letters that she lost the nerve to give to me. She said that she was going crazy and couldn't take it anymore.

Fear clutched at my chest and nearly knocked the air right out of me. If this was her way of saying our marriage was over, I didn't want to hear it. I'll avoid that conversation for as long as humanly possible. Time is what I need. Time to squash this thing with Orton. Time for whatever other wrongs I've done to people to blow over. I've changed since becoming a father. I'm not as vicious and mean as I used to be. I don't start feuds for my own enjoyment. I don't bash people's heads in just for the hell of it. Randy Orton is just a damn straggler. Just someone who desperately clung to the past, plotting his payback. Everyone else already got theirs, I think.

I just need time. Time to show her that I can take care of her, just like I promised.

As far as my thoughts go, I'm out of time. Stephanie is dressed and ready to head out. I hold our bags with my left arm and use my right arm to somewhat support her in case she gets unsteady on her feet. She eagerly leans up against my side and I feel a glimmer of hope. A glimmer that just maybe she does still have faith in my ability to protect and be there for her. That maybe after this Orton storm has passed, we'll still be standing tall.

She's silent as we deal with the paperwork and listen to the aftercare instructions. We heard the exact same spiel yesterday when they were prepared to release her, so neither of us needs to ask questions.

It's not until we walk down the hallway that a chill creeps up my spine and I feel like we're being watched. I stop in mid-stride and draw my eyebrows together in confused concentration. I peer to the right, past Stephanie and scan the area. I would be willing to swear that something is off with the door. It's swaying back and forth as if someone had either just gone through it or was leaning up against it and stopped.

But this hospital is practically deserted, aside from the nurse's station a few hundred feet back. I look all around us and don't see a soul. It doesn't make any sense.

Stephanie disentangles herself from me and comes to stand in front of me, grabbing my face with both hands. "Baby?" She asks. "Is something wrong?"

I shake my head slowly. "I don't know."

Her forehead creases with her bewilderment. "I don't understand."

"It's just...a feeling I have. I can't explain it in a way that makes sense."

Stephanie rolls her lips together thoughtfully before letting out a sigh and leaning up to kiss me. It's an amazing distraction until I hear what sounds like tennis shoes making squeaking noises against the tiled floor. I break our kiss and look towards the door again. This time it isn't even moving.

I take a few steps past her while I take note of our surroundings. Stephanie comes to stand at my side and grabs my arm.

"You're freaking me out, Hunter. Please tell me what's going on."

I put my hands on her waist and draw her close. "I think we're being watched," I whisper conspiratorially.

The low rumble of her chuckle makes her body press further into mine. "Of course. Security cameras and all."

"No I mean like being spied on."

She pulls back and stares at me incredulously. "Why would someone spy on us at a hospital?"

"I told you what I felt didn't make sense."

Stephanie nods and looks thoughtful for a moment. She throws her arms around my neck and drags me down for a hug. "Yeah...a lot of things aren't making much sense recently."

I keep one arm around her waist and place the other hand in her hair while I breathe her in desperately. Something very strange is going on here and I'm not sure what.

But I would be willing to swear that out of the corner of my eye I saw Randy Orton's form retreating down the hallway. But I don't want to freak Stephanie out. Especially when I have no proof. And to be honest, I don't want to even think about what it might mean if he really were here keeping tabs on us.

No. I'm just rattled because I'm worried about losing my wife. Randy Orton is partially the cause of it, so my mind is just projecting things. It's all a figment of my imagination. Has to be.

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><p><strong>AN: **Hopefully that didn't suck too badly LOL. It's semi-filler because it's not fair to not include Hunter's thoughts...especially since crap will hit the fan soon. So I thought it'd be good to know where he was at, mentally, beforehand.


	7. The Calm During the Storm

Hey all! Thanks so much on the reviews for the last chapter! Just a small note - check my profile page for in-between-chapter updates. Right now I'm borrowing my Dad's old laptop, since I accidentally killed mine by spilling liquid on it. So, I don't have future chapters of certain stories and will have to wing it until I'm able to back up the files from my dead laptop. LOL.

Let me know what you guys think of this one! Currently, I'm thinking of ending this fic around chapter 10.

Stephanie's POV

Sometimes, during the most vicious of storms there are moments of peace. Moments of calm. Moments where it seems like things are going back to normal. Moments where everyone's fear of imminent destruction and chaos, vanish.

That moment should be coming soon, I think. Once Hunter and I have our kids, everything will be fine. At least until we have to deal with Orton again.

I close my eyes and take another nervous sip from my water bottle. Almost like I am somehow trying to further wash down the pain pill I took over an hour ago. I'm just really worried about being...normal. Or to at least project some semblance of normalcy for my family. It's important for me to make my children feel safe and secure. To let them know that I'm just fine and so is my relationship with their father. They'd asked Hunter why he let the "bad man" hurt me.

I heard them, with my own ears. We were having a family chat via speakerphone. My husband looked absolutely shattered by the innocent question. Beyond that, he looked like he was asking himself the exact same thing. In and of itself, that is utterly absurd. Hunter would do anything to protect me from harm, just as I would do for him. And he was handcuffed to the ropes and desperately trying to get free when Orton decided to give me a concussion.

If the tears in Hunter's eyes when Orton hurt me weren't enough proof...then the ugly, red marks the handcuffs made from his frantic twisting and pulling, are. I have no doubt that he tried his damndest to get free. To help me.

The fact that he truly tried is enough for me. But it's not enough for him. I can tell. He can hardly look at me and when he does he just looks guilt-stricken. Despite constantly reassuring him that I'm fine and that this isn't his fault, the look remains the same...

That's a lie.

The expression on his face got even worse once he talked to our kids a couple of hours ago. And now every time I try to bring up the Orton situation, he shuts down on me. Eventually, I decided to get some air, while he chose to sulk – or whatever it is he's doing - in the master bedroom.

A breeze passes over me, briefly giving me a reprieve from the heat. I don't bother to put my hair back as it had been. I simply inhale the smell of nature...the smell of spring, that the wind had blown my way.

The knock at our hotel suite isn't very loud. But I can still hear it from where I stand, leaning my forearms on the railing of the balcony. I push off of it and turn around, heading back inside. I close the sliding door, making sure I secure it well. The last thing we need is for one of the kids to wander out there unsupervised.

I kick off my sandals, while making my way through the master bedroom, not particularly caring where they land.

Before I make it out, I hear my children's voices. They sound relieved. They sound excited. They sound happy again.

Another voice – the deep, gravelly one belonging to my husband interrupts. "Hey guys!" He exclaims before letting out a small, content grunt. "I missed you two!"

A laugh of mine has to be stifled, when what Morgan and Devin are saying comes out almost totally incoherent. If I know them, they're burrowed into their father's massive chest or neck and that's why they sound muffled.

With the living room finally coming into view, I pause in the doorway, leaning against the wall with my arms crossed over my chest. The corners of my mouth lift in an absolutely genuine smile at the sight in front of me. I'm right; Morgan's face is buried in Hunter's neck and Devin's is halfway pressed into Hunter's chest.

Hunter's parents notice me in the doorway. I acknowledge them with a nod and a wave, not yet wanting to spoil the adorable family reunion. I know it must mean the world to Hunter that the kids have embraced him so fervently. That they aren't hurling accusations at him about what happened to me. I won't purposely break up their moment; I'll let Hunter have it as long as he can.

Which apparently isn't very long, as Morgan lifts her head and spots me.

"Mommy!" She yells. Thank God my head is generally feeling better and that I had enough sense to dope myself up beforehand, so to speak.

Busted, I get off of the wall and start walking towards our family. Before I can make it, DJ successfully squirms out of Hunter's arms, hitting the ground only to take off towards me in a sprint.

His little body collides with my leg and I laugh at him, before bending down to scoop my little man up. His bluish-hazel eyes twinkle with his delight before he kisses my cheek and throws his arms around me in a hug. I squeeze him tightly and rub his back. My heart wants to break into small, unidentifiable pieces when he almost immediately starts whimpering, his small body shaking against me.

My forehead is tense with concern. I can feel it as I walk the short distance to Hunter and Mac – who's reaching out for me – but is mostly content with her father holding her.

"Hi sweetheart," I greet her with a smile before running a hand over her light brown curls. "I missed you."

"I missed you, Mommy."

I shift a still-trembling Devin so that I can give Morgan a one-armed hug to appease her.

My daughter touches a hand to my forehead, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion. "Is your head hurt, Mommy?" She asks. "Daddy's head is hurt," she states matter-of-factly, using her free hand to point her little index finger to the area where purplish bruising mars Hunter's forehead.

I rock Devin a little bit, trying to settle him down as I answer Morgan. "It's a little sore sometimes. But not as much as Daddy's."

Her tri-colored eyes blink a few times, the confusion completely evident. "So why did you let the bad man kiss you, Mommy?"

It's an active fight to keep my jaw from dropping...and to keep myself breathing.

Morgan continues her questions and speculations - and while that's distressing, it's a small blessing because none of the adults are focused on me. Yet. "Daddy's hurt more but he was moving. The bad man took you away from Daddy and kissed you and you didn't try to stop him."

Spotlight's on me, I think grimly while trying to figure out a coherent explanation for Mac. One that doesn't betray the horrible guilt that my child has made come rushing to the forefront. Sure, I was unconscious when Orton did those things. But when I saw the replay of the events, I did wonder what it would have felt like. That's just as bad as if I had been awake and just let him kiss me. Maybe it's worse. I have no idea.

Nervously, I clear my throat for composure and purposely avoid meeting the eyes of my husband or his parents. "When the bad man hurt Mommy, it put her in a deep sleep. I didn't know what he was doing."

Devin lifts his head from my shoulder and pulls back far enough so that he can look at me. His red eyes and tear-stained face send another stab of guilt through my chest. He takes a few unsteady, hiccupping breaths. "W-w-we. He was taking you, Mommy. Away."

"Away where?" I question.

"Not with us. He was gonna steal you."

On the verge of tears and completely desperate now, I look to Hunter for help. In his arms, Morgan nods her head to agree with what her little brother said.

Hunter's eyes are filled with sympathy as he steps closer to us. I try hard not to notice Patricia's abrupt whimper, or Paul's arm go around her to lead her elsewhere in the hotel suite. Hunter reaches out and touches the top of DJ's head.

Devin sniffles and turns in my arms, to look at his Dad. Hunter waits a beat – letting Devin calm down and allowing himself to collect his thoughts. "Hey, it's okay," he begins softly, continuing to rub our son's back. "Nobody stole your Mom." His tone brightens. "See?" He jerks his head towards me. "She's right there."

For emphasis, I press my lips against my baby boy's cheek a few times. "Please don't cry, DJ. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?" Morgan asks.

I nod affirmatively. "Promise."

"The bad man won't steal you from us?"

At this question, Hunter's eyes meet with mine. He wants to know the answer to that, too. Maybe I haven't been as inconspicuous as I'd like to think, with my strange attraction to Orton. I've gotta say, having everyone here is doing wonders for keeping him out of my head, though. I've yet to have a single inappropriate thought of him.

Before I can answer, a wave of nausea rolls over me. I swallow hard, trying to beat it back as I think of all the things I've eaten in the last twenty-four hours. When I remember the hospital food, I settle on that as the culprit for my upset stomach. Instead of replying, I put Devin down, immediately covering my mouth with my hand as I run to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.

Immediately, I drop to my knees and throw-up into the toilet. The awful retching noises I'm making seem to just inspire my stomach to continue emptying its contents.

I wait until I'm sure there's nothing left and that most of the sickness has passed before I lean away from the porcelain god. I close the lid and flush before finally standing up. I'm a bit unsteady on my feet, using the counter as leverage to get up. I pause a moment and look in the mirror. My eyes are red and tired, my face is somewhat clammy and pale and my mouth is turned down in a frown. I turn the faucet on, splashing some cold water onto my skin before running my toothbrush under it.

I brush my teeth quickly and efficiently. The minute I spit the toothpaste out, there's a knock on the door. Guess I've been in here too long for their liking.

"Are you okay?" Hunter asks. His brown eyes are soft with concern. But they're also probing. I'm not sure what else it is he wants to know.

I give a small smile and plant a hand on my stomach for a second. "All better now." My eyes scan his empty arms and the empty room behind him. "Where is everybody?"

"My parents went to go check in to their room; the kids went with them."

"Are they okay now?"

Hunter tilts his head to the side, hesitating for a moment. "I think so. They were a little alarmed that you got sick and bolted." He shrugs. "I told them it was bad hospital food."

I recognize the source of laughter as my own. It feels alien and I'm not sure why. Maybe because my life is quickly becoming a mess and there isn't anything funny going on. "I came to that conclusion, too."

Several hours later, things have changed. My stomach has food once again, Paul and Patricia have gone to their room. And the kids are in our room, thanks to their begging. The four of us are sharing the king sized bed with ease, with the kids planted in the middle of Hunter and I.

My eyes are closed, but I can tell that the images on the television are flickering, because the colors behind my lids keep changing slightly. If I try really hard, I can sort of hear the television, too. I'm in that weird state...where I'm asleep – unable to move or respond – but totally aware of what's going on around me.

The bed shifts a little and Hunter's hand is suddenly affixed to my side. "I love you so much, Steph," he says softly.

I'd return the affection, if I was able to. It does feel like I'm smiling, but that might just be in my head. The bed shifts again and I feel his lips press against mine firmly, but briefly.

And there, I think as I start to fall into a deeper sleep. There is the calm.


	8. Can't Take It

I admit, this isn't my best chapter of this. But it does serve its purpose. This chapter exists solely to push the plot forward. I'm dessssssperately hoping I can end this at chapter 10, but we'll see! The first half is from Randy's POV, the second half is in the third person and is focusing on Hunter and Stephanie.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter (really curious about that, since replies to ch. 7 were so scarce)...let me know!

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><p>Randy's POV<p>

I couldn't take it.

I couldn't take not knowing whether or not Stephanie was okay. So I hopped the first plane that I could so that I could see for myself.

No, I didn't know for sure what hospital she'd been taken to. But common sense told me to first try the one closest to the arena.

Not long after I walked through the sliding doors of the entrance, I saw her. Them. I saw them. Together.

Triple H's arm was around her and she was all pressed up into his side. It made me sick to look at them, but I couldn't turn away. I told myself I could endure the nausea; whatever it took to be able to see her with my own eyes.

I tried my hardest to envision another scene. A scene where it was my arms she was leaning into so comfortably. But I couldn't make reality bend to my will. Not while my eyes were open, showing me that what I wanted wasn't currently happening.

When I saw them turn to leave, I panicked. I darted through the first door I could find. I believe it was some sort of supply room. But I can't be sure because hospital's are always littered with supplies. I wasn't able to see Stephanie anymore.

My breaths were entering and escaping rapidly as my impatience was reaching its peak. Then finally, mercifully, I saw her and Hunter walk by.

Hunter stopped walking and looked very troubled. And I realized that I was leaning against the door so eagerly and so hard that it was actually slightly open. I jumped back and ducked out of sight before he could spot me.

When I hear the two of them murmuring, I take my chances and stand up fully again. They've moved a little bit and Stephanie is grabbing Hunter's face, making him talk to her.

I knew this was my chance. My only chance.

So while they were disgustingly distracted by one another, I made a beeline out of the storage room and down the hallway.

I wasn't sure if either of them saw me. But as I continue to rush away, I'm hoping that no one did. Especially not Stephanie. Once I was free and clear, I forced myself to think. I realized that I didn't want Stephanie to think of me as some crazed stalker.

Isn't that funny? I care about her personal opinion of me. God, I even caught a crack-of-dawn flight just to make sure she was all right.

These epiphanies hit me like a ton of bricks and I had to blink rapidly and steady myself by bracing one hand against the wall.

But, it becomes as clear as day that what I feel for Stephanie isn't illogical or irrational. It makes perfect sense actually; she makes perfect sense. No, it isn't a simple matter of lust or revenge. Those are wonderful perks, but they're not the reason I can't get her out of my head.

I'm in love with her. Plain and simple. And I wonder if she's thinking about me now.

**Third Person**

In Hunter's opinion, today had been indescribable. He didn't necessarily mean that in the positive sense. The day had started off pretty great; he'd woken up to find Morgan and Devin sleeping peacefully and Stephanie propped up against the headboard watching television. She was leaning over just far enough so that she could massage his scalp gently. Needless to say, his transition from sleeping to being awake had been very calming and relaxing.

He'd let out a yawn and rolled over, alerting Stephanie that he was awake. Almost immediately, she'd moved her hand and crossed her arms over her chest. She'd given him what he would call a strained smile along with her good morning.

And he didn't get it. He didn't understand why she felt the need to be distant once he woke up. That was the polar opposite of what he wanted; he wanted to feel close to her. Being close was never an issue unless one or both of them was insufferably pissed off at something.

But all day long, Stephanie didn't look angry. And she wasn't the type to hold on to her anger; she'd have ways of blowing off steam without the kids knowing. So he was utterly confused, but because the kids were around he didn't have the chance to ask her what was up.

That wasn't the case anymore, though. Stephanie had called up his parents and requested that they take the kids down to the restaurant to grab some dinner.

Morgan and Devin had begun to voice their displeasure at being away from their mother and father, but Patricia's lure of pepperoni pizza had got them to comply peacefully.

Obliging Stephanie's request, he had sat down beside her on the couch. She'd taken one of his hands in hers, but couldn't seem to gather her thoughts. In fact, for the last few minutes she looked like she was trying to mentally will herself to disappear entirely.

Mostly, she was silent. But every so often she would shake her head and apologize for not saying anything. Or she'd mention how difficult this was for her. Hunter was too worried to say anything back. Part of him wanted answers and the other part wanted to stay in the dark about whatever it was that had her acting so strangely.

Stephanie let out a loud sigh and lifted her gaze from the floor, to Hunter's eyes. "This – this isn't easy for me."

Hunter reached out with his free hand and gave her shoulder a brief squeeze. "Take your time," he reassured her outwardly. Inwardly, alarm bells were ringing in his head.

"I just…I feel like this is all one big lie. That I'm lying to you every day when I tell you I'm fine. I'm not fine."

His eyebrows drew together in concern. "Stephanie you're scaring me…if you're not fine, then what's wrong?"

"It's Orton!" She blurted out quickly. "I don't know how it happened. I don't know why. I might have figured out the when," she rambled. "But I-I feel…drawn."

"Drawn?"

"That – that's a word for it. But it's not strong enough for what I've been feeling lately. I'm a complete and utter mess and it's been tearing me up-"

Hunter let out a spiteful chuckle and stood up, backing away from her.

Stephanie glanced at him, the shame evident in her eyes. Had he seen through her confession already? She hadn't even really said anything substantial yet.

"Let me make this less messy for you, Stephanie," he suggested. "You two can have each other; I promise you I won't retaliate against him for that."

Stephanie's mouth parted in shock. "What? What are you saying, Hunter?" She asked, also standing up.

"I knew this was coming," he muttered with a shake of his head as he continued backing away. "I knew it was coming and I kept trying to pretend like it wouldn't happen. "You don't want to be with me anymore. You want to be with him. I'm giving you my permission, Stephanie. I want you to be happy…even if it's not with me."

"You don't understand-" she tried to explain.

Hunter held up his hand quickly. "Spare me!" He yelled. "I said I'll let you go. I didn't say I'd sit here and listen to you drone on about your feelings for him."

"My feelings? Hunter-"

"Shut up, Stephanie! Just shut up! I can't…I can't talk about this with you right now. I don't want to."

Before she could protest, Hunter yanked open the door, slamming it behind him. It took her a moment to realize just what the hell happened. He was under the impression that she was going to leave him for Randy. So he'd left her first.

Regaining her wherewithal, she opened the door and looked out into the hallway, but didn't see him anywhere. "Hunter!" She yelled in the direction of the elevator.

"God," she mumbled despondently. "Oh, God. Please let him come back. Please," she begged of no one in particular.

Suddenly feeling nauseous, she ran away from the hotel room door and into the bathroom. She immediately dropped to her knees and threw up into the toilet.

When she was finished, she thought of running out to try to find her husband. Someone should be able to point her in the right direction. He was hard to miss, being such an attractive and massively sized guy. But she couldn't summon the energy to get off of the floor.

She moved off of her knees and to a sitting position on the floor, leaning her back against the toilet. She drew her knees up to her chest, resting her aching head against them. She felt like complete crap; she was nauseous, her head was aching and she was dizzy. Her chest felt a little weighed down but she knew that was because her heart was hurting at the departure of her husband.

Feeling all of the emotional and physical pain at one time, she sniffled and tried to retain her composure. Crying wouldn't help her head. Crying would lead to hyperventilating, making her symptoms even worse.

But as she felt the first batch of tears soak through her sweatpants, she knew that actively trying to resist her feelings would be just as bad.


	9. Disclosure

Nicole and Heidy - here's my New Year's...errr...something for ya! Thanks for the replies on the last chapter. To the other 75 readers of ch. 8, I'd love to know what you guys think, too. LOL.

This chapter is longer and has more depth than the prior chapter and hopefully makes up for the suckiness of it. I'd still like this fic to end at chapter 10, but we'll see...might have to add another chapter or two! ENJOY the chapter, ENJOY your New Year's celebrations, be safe...and of course (continued at very bottom)

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><p>Hunter's parents, Patricia and Paul stood in the elevator with their grandchildren. Devin had clearly inherited his father's appetite, evidenced by the fact that he had eaten nearly twice as much as his older sister. The four of them had split a chocolate brownie and vanilla ice cream dessert; no one needed a whole helping of sweets at nearly eight at night.<p>

Morgan tugged on Patricia's hand, waiting until she looked down at her. "Nana, where are we sleeping tonight?"

Patricia poked her bottom lip out thoughtfully. Truth be told, she had no idea what the answer to that question was. She knew that Stephanie had wanted to talk to Hunter; that's why the kids had gotten the boot. It was entirely possible that they needed more time to talk or simply wanted the night to themselves. Anyone who knew the both of them well could easily see that something strange was going on. It was difficult to pinpoint, but they just hadn't been behaving as usual. At least not with each other. Their interactions with the kids had seemed relatively unaffected.

"I'm not sure, Mac. Your Mommy and Daddy might need to spend some time alone."

Devin decided to put his two cents in with, "You have toys!"

Patricia and Paul laughed as they all stepped off of the elevator. They headed down the hallway with the kids in between them.

From down the hall, Paul could see that the door to Hunter and Stephanie's room was open. That was unusual, to say the least. The grandparents weren't staying too far away; just in the opposite direction they'd originally walked.

"Pat?" He asked, reaching into his pocket to retrieve their key card.

"Yeah?"

"Here," he said, pushing the card into her hand. "Take them and go to our room."

Patricia stopped walking so that she could look at Paul. "I thought we were going to ask Hunter and Steph what they wanted to do tonight."

Paul shook his head in the negative before leaning in close to her. "I can see that their door is open. I'm going to check it out first; make sure it's safe. I don't want you and the babies here, just in case it's dangerous."

Patricia nodded her understanding before turning to look at her confused grandkids. She forced a smile and said, "Come on you two, let's go play with some toys."

Completely forgetting about the awkward scene that had just taken place, Morgan and Devin did celebratory yells before running off down the hallway. Normally Patricia would scold them, but the room wasn't very far. She turned to Paul and kissed him on the cheek. "Be careful," she urged before rushing off after the children.

After the three of them disappeared from his line of vision, he turned and walked briskly until he reached Hunter and Stephanie's room. He poked his head in cautiously, noting that nothing seemed amiss. "Hunter?" He called loudly. He waited a few seconds for a reply and heard nothing.

"Stephanie?" He asked, walking further into the room.

He didn't hear a response, but he did notice that none of their stuff seemed to be missing. He walked all around the suite, looking for clues as to where the two of them had disappeared to. He spotted their cell phones in the living room. This was so odd. Why would they just up and leave without closing the door or taking their phones with them? That wasn't characteristic of either of them.

Paul continued his inspection, heading farther into the suite. He heard a noise – a low, muffled grunt coming from what sounded like the bathroom. He went in that direction and pushed the halfway door open further, flicking on the light.

On the floor, Stephanie jerked a little bit, but otherwise didn't move.

Paul's eyes widened and he rushed over to her, pulling back the hair that was covering up her face. "Stephanie?" He asked, touching her cheek, his voice fraught with concern.

Stephanie lifted her head slightly, "Mmm?"

"I'm gonna lift you up. Okay?" He asked.

Stephanie didn't respond, so he took that as a yes. He placed one arm under her knees and the other across her back, picking her up from the floor.

It took some effort – he was a relatively fit guy for his age but his son totally outshined him in that department. At this point Paul was just happy that as a 40th anniversary wedding gift, Hunter and Stephanie had given them a home gym.

Briefly, he thought about taking her all the way into the bedroom, but dismissed it quickly. That might be too far. Instead, he laid her down on the couch and propped a pillow under her head a few moments later.

Stephanie groaned and opened her eyes a little, bringing her hand to rub at her head. After initially running to the bathroom and throwing up, she had sat for a few minutes before getting up to brush her teeth. Before she was finished she got nauseous again and ended up having to spit the toothpaste in the toilet. She didn't throw up again but was so tired and worried about getting sick that she stayed put. She had no idea how much time had passed, but it was obviously enough for her father-in-law to be done with dinner.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Stephanie's bottom lip began to quiver and a few tears rolled down her cheeks. Against the pillow, she shook her head no. "Hunter left me…and I feel like crap."

Both of Paul's eyebrows rose in astonishment. It wasn't characteristic of Hunter to just leave Stephanie when she wasn't feeling well. Actually, it wasn't like him to leave Stephanie unless it was absolutely necessary. "He left? Left where?"

"Left. Permanently," she said simply. She was still trying to make herself realize that it hadn't all been one horrible nightmare. This was real and her husband had walked out on her. Stephanie watched on silently as Paul's face turned beet red.

Paul reached into his back pocket, pulling out his cell phone. "Like hell he is," he grumbled angrily as he sent the call through to his wife. "Pat you need to get over here. The door is still open and I'll explain everything when you make it," he said abruptly as soon as she answered.

"Okay," Patricia agreed before hanging up.

"No," Stephanie protested, moving so that she was sitting up instead of lying lifelessly on the couch. "I don't want the kids to see me like this."

"We'll just tell them you got food poisoning," Paul suggested.

"Might not be too far off, actually," Stephanie said.

"We're going to sort this mess out when Pat gets here," Paul said with determination in his voice. "Then we're going to go find that idiot son of ours."

While they waited, Paul had wandered into the kitchen area of the suite to get Stephanie a cold glass of water. He brought the glass along with the pain medication the doctor prescribed for her concussion. She swallowed the pills and gulped down the water quickly; she was parched from all of the throwing up.

A few minutes went by; with Stephanie desperately trying to hold herself together emotionally and Paul trying to keep his temper in check. What the hell was his son thinking? Stephanie was recovering from an injury and clearly not feeling well. Even if they'd gotten into a marital spat, he shouldn't have just left her alone halfway passed out in the bathroom.

Clearly, Hunter had left in a rage. He'd been careless enough to leave the door unlocked and wide open and his cell phone on the table. He just couldn't understand what could have happened to make him blow his lid this way.

Already feeling better physically speaking, Stephanie fixed a small smile on her face when she heard multiple footsteps and tiny voices approaching the door. Her smile became genuine when she actually saw her kids.

Morgan was dressed in her Disney Princess pajamas. The images featured were of Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Belle. It was one of her favorite sets, as the little girl loved anything Disney, especially the Princesses. The set was pink and had pants and a long-sleeved top. Her daughter topped the look off with fluffy bunny slippers, also in pink. If it weren't for the images on her outfit, Stephanie liked to think Mac could be mistaken for walking cotton candy.

Devin was dressed in an outfit from one of his favorite movies, Cars. The pajamas were mostly blue and the pants and long-sleeved top were covered in various images of cars from the film. On his feet were shoes that were also fashioned after the movie.

When they spotted her, they both ran over to her and decided to take advantage of the very spacious sectional leather couch. Devin was lying with the top of his head pressed lightly against the top of Stephanie's head with his legs going in the opposite direction. On the other hand, Morgan had cuddled up right in Stephanie's arms.

The moment didn't really need any words so Stephanie decided to just enjoy being close with her kids before they fell asleep. It was a little selfish in her opinion, but she was rejoicing that they were too worn out to ask about their father. Stephanie wasn't sure she could have resisted the urge to fall completely apart if they'd asked her to explain his absence.

_Well…Mommy has ruined the relationship yet again. Only this time it's not just my life and Hunter's I'm ruining, _she thought cynically. She just wished everything could go back to the way it was six months ago. Before she was on Orton's radar and he'd decided to slowly but surely destroy her life. Before she inevitably and unintentionally started helping him destroy it.

During the quiet time, Paul and Patricia had gone into the bedroom to discuss the situation. Not that Paul had very many details for his wife. They had mostly been waiting for the children to fall asleep so that they could get the story out of Stephanie.

For the last twenty minutes they'd been busying themselves with channel surfing to pass the time. They both looked when their daughter-in-law walked in, carrying Morgan.

Because Stephanie had her hands full, Patricia pulled down the covers for her while Paul went out and grabbed Devin from the couch.

With the kids properly tucked in and sleeping soundly and Stephanie no longer looking like death, they headed back into the living room to talk.

"Spill," Patricia said in a tone that conveyed that her impatience over not having answers was reaching its peak.

Stephanie sighed and sat down on the couch heavily. "Hunter thinks I'm leaving him for Randy Orton," she blurted out. "He thinks I've fallen out of love with him and-"

"What?" Patricia asked in disbelief while Paul stared on slack-jawed. "That-that's insane, Stephanie. I mean the guy has taken out your father and brother already and attacked both you and Hunter. Not to mention he almost scarred Mac and DJ for life."

"I don't understand where my son would get such a ridiculous idea from," Paul said with a shake of his head. Ridiculous was the exact word for it. Even a blind man could see how much Stephanie loved Hunter and her kids. She was also a very intelligent woman; there was no way she'd allow herself to screw up her marriage to ride off into the sunset with what he'd deemed to be a total monster.

Then again…Hunter wasn't exactly the best person in the world when they'd married the first time. "I mean…it is ridiculous. Right?" He asked hesitantly.

Stephanie's eyes widened with her insult but she forced herself not to get angry. She too had drawn the out the similarities between the two men. "It's absurd. Hunter just jumped to conclusions and wouldn't listen to a word I said. All he heard was 'Orton' and the word 'drawn' and he totally lost it."

"Drawn? You feel drawn to that jerk?"

"I-ah…" Stephanie hesitated. "Yes. But not in the way Hunter thinks. Not emotionally."

"Then how?" Paul pressed.

Stephanie cleared her throat and averted her gaze to the floor. She could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks with her blush. Was she seriously about to confess her strange attraction to Orton to her husband's parents?

"Stephanie?" Patricia asked, probingly.

_Why yes. Yes I am going to confess, _she thought dismally. "Sexually," she answered simply, lifting her head to meet their stunned faces. "I haven't done anything. I don't want to do anything. But it's…it's so powerful sometimes. That basic instinct to just scratch the itch. You know?" She marveled out loud. "The part that makes this so damn stupid is that I'm in love with Hunter. That hasn't changed a single bit, nor has my desire for him. I don't know what's wrong with me," she admitted.

Patricia shrugged a little bit. "You're human. That's what's wrong with all of us." She glanced over at Paul. He simply crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back into the loveseat, nodding that it was fine for her to continue.

"You're smarter than I was, Stephanie. Back when I was in your position, I tried to handle it all alone. I kept it to myself and it drove me crazy. I didn't open up to Paul; didn't let him help me with it. And I…scratched the itch, so to speak."

"Hunter, he…Hunter never told me that," she said, completely baffled. She would have never guessed that Hunter's mom had once cheated on his father.

"He doesn't know," Paul chimed in. "I didn't want my issues with Pat to affect his relationship with her. Or for it to affect his future relationships. He was just a toddler when it happened. Lynn was confused, but too young to know what was going on."

"Wow," Stephanie said. Stunned, she shook her head while she tried to process this new information. She wasn't going to let this skew her perception of her mother-in-law. Obviously, they'd worked things out and remained happily married. One indiscretion didn't make her a horrible wife and mother since she was able to mend things and keep her children from being screwed up by her actions.

Patricia stood up from the couch, wiping her moist palms on her jeans. "I'm gonna go talk to Hunter."

"He didn't say where he was going," Stephanie reminded her.

Patricia flipped a wink to Stephanie. "Trust me; I know where I'll find him."

On the rooftop of the hotel, Hunter paced around the pool. Had he _seriously _just left the love of his life? The fact that he was up here and not with her answered that for him. And this wasn't even the first time – no this would be the second time in ten years that he just excused himself from their marriage.

He had to hand it to himself, though. He'd lasted twice as long before deciding it was quitting time. Although "lasting" wasn't an accurate term. Lasting implied that there was serious hardship and that they'd simply survived it. But that didn't describe how things had been this time. Things between them had been as perfect as a relationship between two people ever could be.

But she didn't want him. He wasn't exactly quitting; she simply wanted to move on to someone else. And her happiness and well-being came first to him. He was doing this for her.

"It's hard to love someone so much that you're terrified they don't feel the same way," his mother's voice said from behind him.

Hunter snorted and turned around. Of course his mother would know he was here. It had been a habit he developed in his teenage years. When he needed time to think or just be upset, he had to have two things: the sky and a body of water.

"Terrified my ass," he disagreed. "I know she doesn't feel the same way. I would never leave her for someone else. The only way I'd leave Stephanie is if she decided she didn't want to be with me anymore. That's exactly what happened tonight. So spare me your 'insightful' lecture, please."

"Hunter…it's nine at night and Stephanie is a complete wreck. She's throwing up and passing out and all kinds of stuff. So I don't have time to beat around the bush with this. You're an idiot."

Hunter was going to ask about Stephanie, before his mother went and insulted him. It shifted his focus. So instead of asking her to elaborate on his wife's condition, he widened his eyes and gestured to himself questioningly. "Idiot?"

"Yes. An idiot. You didn't even listen to her before storming out. You just jumped to conclusions."

"Really?" he asked sarcastically. "She said she feels drawn to him…but that it wasn't a strong enough term for what she felt," Hunter recalled, beginning to pace again. "Why would I want to stay and listen to that shit? I cut to the chase with her, just like you _think _you're doing now."

Patricia was undeterred and unruffled by her son's attitude and rudeness. "Had you listened to her you would have known that she wasn't trying to tell you that she's leaving you for the psycho."

Hunter stopped pacing and looked at his mother. "She isn't?" He asked skeptically.

"She isn't," Patricia affirmed. "Her draw is…physical. It's really been messing with her because her love and attraction to you hasn't at all diminished. She doesn't understand how this could happen to her."

"Physical?" Hunter repeated. "Well isn't that just dandy! So she isn't in love with Orton but she wants to go screw him? Thanks, Mom," he clapped slowly and deliberately. "That makes me feel _much _better."

"No, she doesn't want to."

"The hell she doesn't! That's pretty much what you just said. Isn't it?"

"It's not that simple! Feelings…feelings and things are out of our control. Actions aren't. Stephanie isn't going to cheat on you, Hunter."

"What the hell makes you so sure?"

"Because she's not me!" Patricia finally exploded before looking away in shame. "She's – she's not me," she repeated in a whisper. "When you were two…I had an – I had an incident. With a co-worker. It was just the one time and the guilt ate me alive. Me and this co-worker had this kind of magnetic sizzle going on. But I told myself I could control it. That I didn't need to confide in Paul because it would upset him. And what was the point in upsetting him when I was sure it would resolve itself? So I stayed quiet," she recalled, looking up at Hunter again. "Until I'd done the one thing I never thought I would."

Hunter breathed in and out deeply. He wanted to go comfort his father or something, but there was no point. That had happened three decades ago. And he'd obviously gotten over it and made the marriage a success. "And this story is supposed to convince me she's not going to be unfaithful, how?"

"She came to you, Hunter. She knew it would upset you to talk about this but she recognized the damage it was doing by not sharing it with you. She came to you for help. Stephanie trusts and loves you enough to let you all the way in." Patricia touched a hand to Hunter's shoulder. "So," she dragged out. "Get back downstairs and help her. She's an even bigger mess than she was when we came to get the kids for dinner."

Five minutes later and Hunter was hastily ushering his parents back to their own hotel room. He'd purposely avoided looking at Stephanie. He didn't want this conversation to begin in any way, shape or form until they were alone. He shut the door behind his parents and turned around.

Stephanie had stood up from the couch and was a mere few feet away from him. She wrapped her arms around her midsection protectively and chewed her bottom lip. "You really hurt me tonight," she began softly.

"I know…I heard," he said while taking a few steps forward. "I'm sorry I hurt you. And I know it's not an excuse for walking out on you, but you hurt me first."

Stephanie sighed. "If you would have just listened to me…" she trailed off.

"What? You think that finding out that you simply want to – to what – whore yourself out to Orton hurts less than just straight up leaving me for him?"

Blue eyes flashed with insult. Stephanie opened her mouth, preparing to launch into a full out argument, but Hunter held up a hand to stop her.

He winced at the harshness of what he'd said to her and rubbed his forehead briefly and tenderly, making sure to avoid the bruising. "I shouldn't have said that," he admitted.

"No, you shouldn't have."

"I'm sorry. I don't think you're a whore," he said sheepishly.

Stephanie laughed mutedly. She was relieved that Patricia had been able to talk him down, but she also wanted to clarify things personally. "Most of this thing has been subconscious and involuntary, but I'm still sorry for it. For me, it still feels like I've betrayed or have been unfair to or checking out on you. I never want to do that. So I want to get one thing straight here. I absolutely and completely love you and want you. In every way possible. That hasn't changed in the slightest."

"How can you say that when you're hot for the crazy guy?"

"Lust and attraction will come and go randomly," she said easily. "Love is forever. Our marriage is going to be forever. There's no way in hell I'm going to lose you twice in one lifetime. So I've been fighting it off. I'm going to fight it until it goes away entirely. But I can't do it alone."

"All right." Hunter nodded and ignored the urge to smile hugely at the conviction in her voice. At the fact that she wasn't just throwing in the towel on the whole situation. At the fact that he wasn't the only person who didn't want to lose the other again. "How can I help?"

Stephanie wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. "Be here?" She tried. "Just stay and hold me. Please?"

Hunter kissed her cheek as his way of agreeing to her request.

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><p><strong>AN: **(Continued) LET ME KNOW what you think...I mean if I don't know what you guys want/think then I'll have to assume a character should be killed off or a relationship or two destroyed for shock value and dramatic effect. Hee! :-D.


	10. Overdrive

Hey all! Thanks for the reviews on that last chapter. I'm glad you guys liked the twist involving Hunter's mom. I thought it'd make the story more interesting and I didn't want the kids or grandparents to serve as just filler. Usually in fics we see Stephanie's family being very much involved in the plot but not so much with Hunter's.

I love all the feedback! It was so awesome that I really tried to write this chapter as best I could, adding important details but keeping up with the lust and fluff you've all come to love in this story! Hopefully I did my job...let me know! More reviews = faster, better updates AND me not killing anyone off LOL.

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><p>Nearly two weeks had passed since the last time they'd directly seen or heard from Randy Orton. Though Stephanie had insisted that she'd be fine if Hunter went to attend Raw a few days prior, he refused to go. He wasn't comfortable with the idea of traveling from Kansas City, Missouri to Dallas, Texas without her in tow. So he'd waited until her headaches had subsided completely; that didn't happen until Thursday.<p>

They'd decided not to even watch Raw because honestly neither one of them cared what happened. Orton couldn't harm anyone else in their family; he'd already gotten everyone that he could.

But Shane had dialed them up and told them what they missed. First of all, both he and Vince weren't cleared to get back in the ring. They'd both suffered from severe concussions and all of the side effects hadn't subsided yet.

Next, was that on live television Orton had admitted that all of this was to get to Hunter and that he'd faked the IED.

Stephanie knew that he was lying. She knew that she was at least partially the reason that he'd been doing all of this. Her thoughts were confirmed when Shane mentioned that Randy had gloated about kissing her.

Instead of keeping the information to herself, she'd shared it with Hunter. She'd shared everything with Hunter. And aside from nearly punching a hole into a wall, he'd taken it pretty well in her estimation. He wasn't blaming her or trying to make her feel guiltier than she already did; that was a relief.

In fact, the experience actually brought them closer together. She was basically showered with attention by him just so he was sure she was focused on their marriage and family.

Stephanie wasn't complaining. She enjoyed having him all to herself for a few days. It would've been akin to a mini vacation if it weren't for a few circumstances.

They'd sent Hunter's parents and the children back home on Thursday and had flown into Houston, Texas for Wrestlemania on Saturday afternoon.

When Hunter was preparing to leave for the arena earlier today, he made it clear that he wanted her to stay behind. Stephanie didn't outright refuse, but she did bring up their past.

They'd discussed this when they'd reconciled all those years ago. But she felt the need to point out that a large part of why their first marriage failed was because she didn't know when to let the decisions her husband made stand. She was always stubborn and intent on having her way, even if it meant fighting with him for weeks over something stupid she wanted to do. So in their fresh start, she'd decided to willfully submit.

By submission she didn't mean subservience. What she meant is that when they disagreed on a family decision, she'd go with whatever he decided after she voiced her opinion on the situation. It had worked wonderfully during this marriage; not that they often disagreed to start with. This time around she knew what made him happy and what made him angry and she didn't do unnecessary things to piss him off.

In short, she didn't interfere with his career very much, nor did she run around flirting with other guys in a misguided attempt to get him to pay attention to her. Neither one was necessary anyway; he didn't need her help in the ring and he had no problem with giving her all the love she could stand.

So, she'd made it clear to him that if he told her to stay at the hotel tonight, she absolutely would. But she also let him know that it would hurt her heart not to be able to be at the arena with him. Vickie Guerrero was a pushover when it came to certain superstars. She was giving the match stipulations that were putting Hunter at a disadvantage. If he was disqualified, he lost his title. That was unfair, given that anyone who wanted to see him stripped of the title might interfere just because.

Stephanie wanted to be there in person to make sure no one except her tried adding conditions at the last minute.

Because he saw how much this meant to her, Hunter had agreed to let her come tonight. His only requirement was that she stayed in the locker room most of the time. If she needed to leave, he was coming with her.

Stephanie and Hunter had been at the arena for a couple of hours already. Stephanie had made her presence known by shifting some details of the match.

Hunter didn't want an unfair advantage; that would cause people to say that he was only victorious because his wife shifted the odds in his favor.

Knowing how he felt about Stephanie flexing her power, she'd kept it minimal. She'd only made things fairer. If _anyone _interfered before or during the match, they were fired immediately.

She had to thank her father for passing on his creative genius on to her. She had recognized that the stipulation needed to apply to not just the actual match; she wouldn't put it past Legacy to attack her husband prior to the match, to diminish his chances of winning. Her stipulation greatly reduced that possibility.

After the match, her husband would be free to use weapons to defend himself if that was necessary.

Even Hunter had been impressed with her modifications. That was really saying something since he was usually present when she enacted some plan. He'd given her a congratulatory kiss.

And somehow that got her started up. She'd practically attacked him for goodness sakes. Not that he was in any way resistant to her; not really. But he knew that cameras were planted in locker rooms to catch crafty, dramatic moments. He'd be damned if the entire world saw what they were about to get up to.

So despite her protests for urgency he'd scooped her up and carried her into the bathroom. He'd intended to have her on the counter, but she had other ideas and they ended up against the wall instead. The first time, anyway. Then they moved over to the counter.

Hunter broke their languid kiss and smirked at her. "Woman, you're going to be the death of me." He shook his head while he tried to catch his breath. He relaxed, leaning his forearms against the counter.

"Never. You do a really, really great job at keeping up," Stephanie said, winking at him playfully.

Hunter laughed and buried his face into the side of her neck, inhaling the faint but sweet scent of the body splash she was wearing today. "Thanks," he murmured before pressing a light kiss to her skin. "But seriously, baby. You haven't been this impatient and insatiable about sex since you were pregnant with the boy."

At first, Stephanie returned the laugh. She loved her husband's deep, rich laughter and it delighted her when he was amused. After the hilarity died off and he fell silent, she blinked a few times, letting what her husband said soak in.

Stephanie thought about what she knew. Her hormones were well and truly out of whack. She felt the need to maul her husband at every available opportunity. This morning, she was at least patient enough to have them both get fully undressed. But this afternoon she had been too eager to shed more clothes than was absolutely necessary. She usually had more self-control than that. Not much; but some.

Her hearing had sharpened; she'd technically put that one to the test when Orton was about to DDT her from the second rope. She'd been able to hear Hunter breathing. But she knew that the oxygen deprivation might have had a say in that.

Which didn't explain why she was able to do the same thing at the hospital. That one she'd written off as simply being very familiar with her husband.

The biggest change was her sense of smell. In fact, it was one of the draw's to Orton…he was just a really great smelling guy, as weird as that sounded. Her husband smelled wonderfully also, but their scents were so distinct to her and she hadn't examined why that distinction had become so pronounced recently.

Then there was the fact that she'd been throwing up for a few days now, sometimes feeling awfully fatigued and experiencing dizziness and headaches. But the arrivals of those symptoms were in alignment with when she got her concussion and when she'd eaten the hospital food.

Everything had a reasonable explanation.

So why did she suddenly feel sick? Not nauseous sick but emotionally sick. She swallowed the lump that had lodged itself in her throat and whispered, "Oh my God."

Hunter pulled back from his comfortable position and eyed her. "What is it?"

Instead of answering, Stephanie pushed lightly against his chest until he backed up. Hunter watched her, completely confused as she jumped down from the counter, hastily put her clothes on and scurried back into the locker room.

He was shaking his head in confusion as he threw his jeans on and straightened out his t-shirt. But when he realized the shirt was mildly damp, he decided to whip it off over his head instead. He balled it up and used it to dab at the excess moisture on his chest and back before throwing it on the floor.

His brown eyes glanced in the mirror and saw that because of his wife, a good amount of his hair was sticking out from the ponytail. Rather than fixing it, he just removed the band and used his hand to tousle out the loose curls, making them cascade around his broad shoulders.

Following Stephanie's strange lead, he walked back into the locker room to see her hovering over her tote bag, rummaging through it.

She pulled out her day planner and sat down; flipping through it as he finally reached her. He sat next to her and with a sigh, reached over and smoothed down her messy hair.

He watched her carefully as her blue eyes scanned the pages, turning them agitatedly because she couldn't find what she was looking for. "Baby," be began cautiously. "Is everything okay?"

Underneath her anxiety Stephanie also felt somewhat relieved. She hadn't completely lost her mind by becoming attracted to Orton. Her sex drive was simply in overdrive just like it always was when she was pregnant. This time was different simply because she was around the business and in close proximity with Orton often. Stephanie shut the planner and tossed it to the floor before closing her eyes tightly and briefly. When she opened them again, she looked like she was on the verge of tears. But she still nodded. "I think so."

"Then why do you look like you're about to cry?" He asked point blank.

"Because…my senses are heightened, I get nauseous and dizzy and have headaches. My appetite has changed and my body is so sensitive that I can probably just think about you touching me and I'll have an orgasm."

As Hunter heard her rattle off symptoms, he caught on. But he was stunned. And slightly skeptical since some of those symptoms coincided with her concussion and assumed food poisoning. He jerked his head towards the planner she'd tossed on the floor. "What does that say?"

Stephanie pointed to it. "It says that Mother Nature is overdue."

Hunter arched an eyebrow and asked, "How overdue?"

Stephanie tilted her head from left to right, considering. "Umm maybe two or three months. It's hard to tell because sometimes I skip the placebo pills anyway. So I'm used to not having a period."

Hunter shook his head and turned away from her, leaning his forearms on his knees. Yes, he understood the situation that they were probably in. But he didn't get how this happened. And why was it happening now with so much crap going on?

They both knew that they wanted at least one more child. But they'd intended to plan its arrival. There was no way they'd intentionally get pregnant while she was coming to arenas regularly. Certainly not when they were in the middle of a war with someone who would have the audacity to physically harm her.

Hunter remained silent, his mind working overtime to scan their conversations over the last few months. He remembered that Stephanie had been reminding him to pick up her prescription for the birth control pills. He remembered her saying that she only had a couple days' worth left.

Ever the procrastinator, he'd put it off but told her he'd take care of it. And he didn't. Since there was no male birth control option really, getting her prescription filled was his contribution to making sure that baby number three was conceived when they were ready. And he'd dropped the ball.

"I take it you didn't go get the prescription yourself when you ran out?"

Stephanie shook her head. "With all the craziness going on with Chris Jericho at that time and with the New Year just starting, I totally forgot until the pharmacy called me."

Hunter vaguely remembered that conversation and her light, playful scolding. "When did they do that, again?"

"Shortly after Orton kicked my Dad in the head."

"That would've been almost three weeks later. You were probably already pregnant then," Hunter pointed out.

The silence was deafening to Stephanie. "Are you mad at me?" She asked.

"I'm mad at myself…that I'm continuously screwing something up where you're concerned. It was my responsibility to pick up the pills and I didn't. I'm not upset that we may be having another baby. I'm upset that because of my carelessness you and the baby have been put in danger repeatedly. I mean you continued taking the pills not knowing you were pregnant. Orton has attacked you twice and it's a miracle neither of them made you miscarry…the hospital specifically asked me if there was a chance you could be pregnant before they exposed you to radiation and I said no. If something is wrong…" he trailed off, sitting straight up again, but stubbornly setting his jaw and staring directly ahead.

Stephanie moved so that she was sitting on his lap rather than beside him. She grabbed his chin and said, "Hey, look at me." When he reluctantly obliged her, she continued. "You're anything but a screw up. You're the best husband and father to our kids that I could ever ask for. Nothing is going to be wrong with our baby. There's no evidence that taking the pill while pregnant causes problems. And obviously this kid is a fighter. So he or she will be perfectly fine. We both messed up for not suspecting this. But we've been under a good amount of stress. And truthfully, it seems like we never guess that I'm pregnant. I always end up in the hospital first. So kudos to us for figuring it out on our own," she laughed.

_Truer words have never been _spoken, Hunter thought. With Morgan, Stephanie had no idea she was pregnant until she went to her doctor for a routine physical. With Devin, he'd made her go to the hospital after the trial of Eric Bischoff because she had become seriously ill that night. Feeling some of his tension and guilt ease off, he smiled at her and placed a hand on her still flat stomach. "What do you think we've got in here?"

Stephanie twisted her lip while she considered and calculated. "Hmm. Because of the symptoms, I'm thinking a girl. With DJ I got sick around six weeks in. If we're right about when we made this one, that means I could be as much as 13 weeks along."

Hunter shook his head and was completely entertained. "How do you just walk around with another person living inside of you this long and not know it? That's just sad, Stephanie," he chuckled.

Stephanie shrugged. "See the pattern? Girls are peaceful and quiet longer. Only the boy wreaked havoc immediately."

"Whatever," Hunter dismissed of her gender bias and implications that baby boys were troublemakers. "We'll see about that when we find out the sex."

"Indeed," she agreed. Stephanie remained silent for a few moments before touching Hunter's cheek to grab his attention. "Does this mean you're happy about this?"

"Of course I'm happy!" He said with much enthusiasm. "You thought I wouldn't be?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "Just with the dramatic circumstances…"

Hunter put his index finger over her lips for one second. "Nonsense. Dramatic circumstances or not, nothing means more to me than the well-being of you and our kids – that includes this unborn one. I'm sorry that my shock and confusion seemed to overshadow the happy."

Stephanie smirked. "You're forgiven."

"Smart ass," he said with a grin. "Are you happy?"

Stephanie nodded her head eagerly before biting down on her lip, trying to keep her emotions under control. She felt like crying; another clear sign that her hormones were imbalanced. _Definitely pregnant, _she decided immediately.

Hunter placed a hand on the back of her head and gently pulled her forward for a kiss. When Stephanie moved to deepen the kiss, he allowed it and simply enjoyed the moment. But when she moaned and started lightly raking her nails down his bare chest, he knew he had to put the brakes on the situation. He broke the kiss and laughed at her. "Easy there, tiger." He stood up, still holding her before setting her feet on the ground.

Stephanie's lips were full and pouting. "What's wrong?"

"Absolutely nothing. But with your…bodily sensitivities we have to stop while we can. I'm taking you back to the hotel."

"You can't do that."

"We'll get you tested to confirm it…but now that we're both thinking clearly, it's so obvious that you're pregnant. This business is already dangerous and to top it off, Orton is just psychotic and probably obsessed with you. So why the hell shouldn't I take you back?"

Stephanie simply raised both of her eyebrows and pointed to the television behind Hunter. "Um, because they just announced your match."

Hunter spun around and his eyes went wide when he saw Randy Orton's titantron playing. Just exactly how long had they spent making love? They'd both completely lost themselves in each other; with neither of them noticing how much time was passing by. He wasn't complaining. He felt quite the opposite about their encounter. But now he wouldn't be able to get her to the hotel and back. She'd have to stay at the arena and that was frustrating because he didn't trust anyone else with her safety or the baby's.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it," he chanted, tugging at his blonde hair. "Okay you're right," he relented with a sigh. "But you have to stay back here."

"I will," she said instantly.

Hunter narrowed his eyes. She'd agreed to that far too quickly and he knew how stubborn she could be at times. He pointed a finger at her to convey that he was not kidding. "I'm serious, Stephanie. No matter what happens out there, promise me you will stay back here with the door locked until I come and get you."

Stephanie reached up and took his face in both of her hands. She pecked him on the lips and gave him a small smile. "I don't want to take any more chance's with the baby either. As hard as it's going to be for me if he starts really hurting you…I'll stay in here no matter what until you come back. I promise."

Hunter breathed out a sigh of relief before grabbing her in a brief hug. "Thank you," he said sincerely.

Their tender moment over for the time being, she watched as he scrambled all around the room to get ready for his match. It was fascinating to watch his transformation from Hunter, her husband to Triple H, The Game. To some, they were probably one and the same. But she knew differently. Because she got to see him as her husband far more often than she did as The Game, the changes were pronounced. His hazel eyes would become so focused, his muscles so tensed and ready for action. His entire demeanor would shift and his mood would become harsher and edgier.

When he was finished tying up his boots he looked at her one last time, not needing to verbally reiterate his request.

Stephanie grabbed his hands and tugged until he leaned down to her. She kissed his lips softly before releasing him. "I love you, baby. Good luck. I'll be rooting for you," she said.

"I love you, too. And thanks." Hunter grinned at her before he turned away. He grabbed his championship belt from the floor haphazardly and walked out of the room. He lingered in the hall right outside of the door until he heard the locks slide into place.

Now mostly convinced that Stephanie would be safe, he turned his mental focus to decimating one Randy Orton.


	11. Full Circle

I have now officially updated all of the current stories! I was motivated to get this out tonight, since I may not have time to write again until Monday. In this chapter, the match between Hunter and Randy gets underway. Nothing too significant happens plot-wise, but it seemed wrong to just skip writing about the match and go directly into what happens afterwards (evil smile, lol)

stephhhhfan6: thanks so much for voicing your understanding of my predicament with my spirituality (not only does the writing get obsessive when I'm on a streak, but with the characters' personality having a G-rated fic just doesn't work LOL). I've come to a middle ground on things, though.

Anon: thank you for dropping a review and for the compliments. I definitely feel I owe it to readers to use proper grammar. Bad grammar just hurts the brain haha.

Miss Shannon: I think we PM'ed about your review, months ago. They'll have a role in ch. 12 and 13 :-)

Heidy: yup Orton's crazy. Will say and do crazy things shortly. Stay tuned!

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><p>Hunter walked out onto the stage with his head down. The dark lights flickered and the music blared all around him, the bass making his muscles tingle with anticipation of beating someone's ass.<p>

"He's the World Heavyweight Champion, Triple H!" The announcer finished.

Hunter lifted up his head, spitting a large mist of water out in his signature way.

He stalked down the ramp, occasionally spitting out smaller mists of water as he came to a stop in front of the ring.

Randy Orton stood on the far side of the ring, staring at him with narrowed eyes.

Not backing down, Hunter stared at him hatefully. Just thinking about all the things he'd done recently warranted a severe beating with his sledgehammer.

But when he thought about what the bastard had done to his wife...what he could have done to his unborn child. That gripped at his stomach and twisted it around. Stephanie had promised to stay in the back until he came to get her. She kept her promises to the best of her ability. He just prayed that this was one she followed down to the letter.

Bringing himself back into focus, Hunter took mouthful of water before tossing the bottle aside. Eyes still on Orton, he jumped onto the apron, using the top rope to pull himself up fully.

Orton continued to stare at him. Hunter wondered if the guy was even bothering to blink. It was impossible to tell given how dark it was, but he stared right back.

As his music came to its familiar, climactic point, he turned to face the crowd. He looked all around before glancing over his shoulder at Randy once more.

Hunter leaned back into the ropes, arms in the air triumphantally as the huge mist of water rained down around him.

"Time to play the game!" The lead singer of the band boomed.

Hunter flexed his muscles for the crowd, spitting out the last bit of water as he showed off his title.

Facing Orton again, he cautiously stepped into the ring. Instead of posing on the turnbuckle as usual, he dropped his championship belt and got right in his opponent's face.

"You think I don't know what you're doing, huh?" Hunter asked furiously. He actively ignored the referee who was telling them the rules on the match.

Orton smirked at him. "I made it clear what I was doing. Revenge," he said simply.

"I know you have a thing for _my _wife. You just better stay hell away from her!" Hunter ordered, pointing his index finger right in Randy's face.

Randy lifted his head somewhat defiantly, even though his eyes widened in shock fractionally. "What if she doesn't _want_ me to stay away from her?"

"Trust me, she does!"

"Are you sure?" Randy asked pointedly as he continued to study his competition on more levels than one. Something very interesting was happening and it had nothing to do with the match itself. Hunter was pissed, no doubt. But there was something else there.

"You're fucked in the head. You know that?"

Randy laughed. He'd noticed Hunter's hesitation in replying. He also noticed that the other man didn't deny the accusation. "Aww, it's okay," he sympathized. "Look, I'll make it easy for you to leave her. After I kick your ass and take your title I'm gonna drag you to the back..."

Hunter's eyes narrowed at the mention of going in the back, wondering where he was going with this. The fact that Stephanie was in the back is what sparked his worry. He couldn't care less about the idle threats that had preceded it.

He continued deliriously, "I'm gonna grab that hot wife of yours and I'm gonna fuck her right in front of you."

All Hunter could see was red. The blood beat in his ears and the moment seemed to come to a standstill as the bell rang, signalling the start of the match. He reared his fist back and clocked Randy directly on his jaw.

With much satisfaction, he watched the younger wrestler fall to the mat. He wasted no time mounting him and landing several more blows to his face.

After the surprise worse off, Orton countered the move and began trying to hit Hunter in his face. The veteran blocked and deflected most of the hits, allowing his arms and shoulders to take a good deal of the beating.

Hunter finally pushed Orton off of him, but they both struggled to get their bearings.

Orton got himself straightened out first and used the opportunity to sneak up behind Hunter and put him into the Full Nelson.

"She wants me doesn't she?" He hissed.

Hunter struggled to move his arms out of the hold but he still chuckled as much as he was able to. "Can't you smell her perfume on me?" He asked smugly.

Randy cranked his hands forward to apply more pressure on Hunter's neck, smiling evilly when the other man groaned in pain.

"You just won't say it!" Orton accused. "But I know she wants-" he stopped himself. "Needs. No, she needs me. Fucking say it, tell me the truth!" When Hunter didn't say anything right away, Randy increased the pressure and more or less threw Hunter from side to side to add to the pain. "I'll break your neck I swear I will!" He threatened. "Tell me!" He raged like a lunatic.

Hunter grimaced and squinted against the pain. This stupid manuever was painful, but ineffective. It wasn't for good for executing a reliable submission hold and Randy couldn't beat him with his fists while he was busy holding his arms up. Nor could Randy pin him like this. He could hold out as long as needed. No way was he going to lose this quickly - especially not with a move as crummy as this one.

Taunting Randy seemed to cause him to lose focus and form. He exhaled a painful breath before speaking. "The truth is...we had sex right before my match," he chuckled darkly. "Twice," he added for extra insult.

"You're a liar!" Randy screamed at him, upping the pressure.

Hunter let out a low howl of pain but otherwise remained silent, having already said his piece. He'd leave Orton to stew and work himself up while he thought about it.

"It doesn't matter!" Orton finally exploded. "None of this matters! By the time this night is over I'll know _exactly _how good it _feels_ to be inside of your wife! Whether she wants me to or not!" He clarified darkly, dragging Hunter from side to side by his neck wildly. "Whether you're there or not! You can be unconscious, lying up in a fucking hospital somewhere...I don't care! But mark my words...tonight I'll have my way with Stephanie!"

Orton quickly adjusted the hold, using it to push Hunter foward and into the Full Nelson Slam. Hunter's body bounced off of the canvas unforgivingly. Randy retreated to the opposite corner of the ring, sitting up on his knees.

He breathed heavily, his eyes wide with lunacy. He wiped at his bottom lip slowly, staring at his prey.

Orton tilted his head and leaned forward on his hands, crawling over to Hunter. He kept his torso low to the mat as he just watched, looking like he would pounce at any moment. "Did you hear me, you bastard? Everything you want, everything you have is going to be _mine_. It's alllll coming full circle now," he laughed and finally moved to stand up.

Before Randy knew what was happening, Hunter had lifted his hand and thumbed him in the eye.

He let out an embarassing yelp and flinched back into the ropes, touching his eye and trying to make the pain stop.

Hunter couldn't help but laugh. It was a cheap move, but not illegal. Oh well. Hearing him squeal like a little girl was entertaining after all the mess he talked earlier. He backed up into the ropes, launching himself forward and towards Randy. He extended a long, muscular arm and caught the wrestler in the neck with a clothesline, knocking him over the top rope.

He stretched his arms above his head and cracked his neck, deciding he'd grab a quick breather before wearing Orton down some more. He walked directly over to the primary television camera and gave a tiny smile.

In the back, Stephanie's worried frown had turned into a genuine smile. She'd been extremely concerned when Orton had her husband in the Nelson. Not only did she know firsthand how painful that move was, but she also knew what the two men were discussing so heatedly. Her. The mics weren't on; not for this match. Everyone anticipated the excessive profanity and didn't want it to air live, where they couldn't edit it out.

But Stephanie was easily able to read Hunter's lips. So she knew his replies, his side of the conversation. It didn't sound good. There had to be a reason he kept mentioning her and referencing their love life.

Her eyes stayed glued to the television, watching as Hunter lifted his left hand. He pointed at his ring finger and then at his heart before walking away.

She smiled at the little message of love he had sent just for her. Letting her know that she was at the forefront of his mind.

Hunter dragged Randy Orton up by his head. He got him halfway and then threw him into the steel steps. He pushed his hair back from his face before walking over to where Orton was sprawled out. He dragged him up again, this time supporting a good deal of Orton's body weight. He walked him over to the Spanish announcer's table and slammed his forehead against it.

Even Stephanie flinched at the noise. God, she just wanted this match to be over already. She didn't expect it to get any prettier from here. Hunter had things well under control. But in a business like theirs, the tide could turn quickly.

And honestly, Hunter and Orton's intense exchange had freaked her out. She just wanted to hurry up so they could get the hell out of this arena and go to the hotel.

The longer she stayed here, the more unsafe she felt. She just couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen tonight.

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><p>Hate? Love? Just anxious for the final couple of chapters to see where Psycho Orton takes us? Let me know! :-D<p> 


	12. Security

Hello shit. Meet fan :)! That's all I can really say about this chapter. THANK YOU GUYS SOOOOO MUCH for the reviews on the last one!

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><p>In the locker room, Stephanie sat at the edge of her seat with her hands tugging her hair.<p>

What was Hunter trying to do, give her a heart attack? He'd nearly been given the RKO. At the last second, he tried to get out of it and was halfway successful. Randy was only execute a piece of the move on him. Hunter had kicked out after a very close, two count.

"Come on baby," she said to the television as she watched her husband roll off of his back and try to pull himself to his feet.

She actively ignored Randy Orton as he continued to lie on his stomach, literally beating the canvas with his fists. He was absolutely livid that Hunter had messed up the move and kicked out.

He was so busy throwing his tantrum that he didn't even realize Hunter was getting up.

When the crowd suddenly cheered, he glanced up only to be met by Hunter's boot coming down against his head.

His eyes rolled in the upwards with each blow that rained down against his skull.

Hunter wanted this match to end already. That last pin was too close for his liking. He picked Randy up by his head and whipped him into the ropes. Randy somehow managed to duck the clothesline Hunter had waiting for him.

Agitated, Hunter quickly turned around and hit Randy with a high knee to the face. Orton stumbled back against the ropes; they were the only thing keeping him from falling over. Hunter grabbed Orton by the arms, yanking him over and directly into a kick to his midsection.

Hunter set him up for the pedigree, simply holding him in position for a few seconds while he talked trash. "Eat canvas, you piece of crap! You'll never get near my wife!" He bit out quickly before executing the move, planting Orton's face and head into the mat.

He covered Randy for the pin, hooking his leg.

Stephanie bit down on her lip and mumbled out her count along with the referee. "One...two." Her eyes widened and she held her hands up in the air triumphantly. "Three!" She screamed, kicking her legs wildly. Hunter had done it. He'd beaten Randy and retained his title.

The referee grabbed Hunter's arm, declaring him the victor. The crowd was going absolutely wild, but Hunter ignored it all. He wriggled his arm free and rolled out underneath the ropes. He searched under the ring until he finally pulled out his trusty sledgehammer.

Stephanie nodded, understanding what he was up to. Her husband was thinking ahead. There was no way Legacy would take this lying down. Surely they had some sneak attack planned for him.

Hunter rolled back into the ring and towered above Randy Orton. Just because, Hunter kicked at him to see what would happen. He was stirring, but couldn't quite attempt to make it to his feet yet. Hunter looked directly at the camera and gave a devious little smile before screwing on a look of pure malice.

He used his foot to push Orton to lie on his back. He hit Orton in the chest with the weapon several times, delighting as the other man grunted and writhed in pain. Dropping the sledgehammer momentarily, Hunter dragged Orton to his feet and threw him into the turnbuckle. He picked up the sledgehammer again and ran across the ring at full speed, until the heavy weapon made contact with Orton's abdominal area. Hunter backed up a tad and propped Orton up again, this time scoring a blow to his temple.

A holler of pain left Orton's mouth and Hunter moved out of the way, allowing him to drop to the ground face first with a bleeding gash on his head.

Stephanie sighed. She knew exactly why Hunter was doing this. But she couldn't help but to try to silently transmit her worry through the television screen. She wanted to get the hell out of the arena as soon as possible. Every minute and every second that they stayed here was merely increasing the odds that something bad would happen.

Following a chorus of boos, the cameras panned to the top of the ramp to show Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase running down to aid their mentor. The two men entered the ring from opposing sides, somewhat boxing Hunter in.

Not knowing who to hit first, Hunter just stood there but didn't look at all worried. Instead, he goaded them by doing a crotch chop.

Insulted, both guys ran at him at full speed, intending to turn him into a pancake. At the last moment, Hunter simply stepped out of the way and watched with satisfaction while the two idiots collided and fell to the floor in a heap. He hit each one in the ribs a couple of times for good measure, before making his exit. Hunter's theme music started up, charging the atmosphere that much more.

The referee rushed to his side, to throw the belt over his shoulder. Hunter simply laughed as he looked at the carnage he'd left in the ring as he walked up the ramp backwards.

Upon reaching the top, Hunter held his arms up in victory. He still held the sledgehammer in one hand and in the other he had his championship belt. "That was for you, Steph!" He yelled over the roar of the fans and his blaring music.

Putting aside her concern and rapidly growing anxiety, Stephanie felt her heart warm at the gesture. Hunter had won the match and fended off every member of Legacy. Maybe her fears had been completely silly, but she couldn't help that she worried about her husband's welfare often.

But he'd overcome the obstacles and was on his way to her now. A part of her wished the cameras would continue to follow him until he made it to the locker room. That was just pure paranoia on her part, though.

It was a new feeling, being this worried. But that's how much this whole Randy Orton thing freaked her out. The guy was a psycho at worst and disturbed at best. He was directly after her and hated her husband. Top that off with the fact that she was most likely pregnant and it was a recipe for disaster in her opinion.

To keep herself calm and do her part to get them the hell out of here as soon as possible, she began packing away things they didn't need. She sat a set of Hunter's street clothes out for him, but put everything else in his duffel or suitcase. She put her things into her tote bag and suitcase. She poked a head in the bathroom and grabbed Hunter's shirt from the floor. It was still kind of damp so she decided she'd toss that into his duffel.

A knock at the door startled her out of her thoughts and her tasks. She walked out of the bathroom slowly. God, this felt like something out of a horror movie.

"Steph it's me," Hunter said.

Stephanie narrowed her eyes at the door. Could someone fake his voice? Unlikely, she decided instantly. But she could still have some fun with this anyway. She walked over to the door, her hand on the handle. "What's the password?"

Hunter blinked at the door in confusion. They hadn't set up a password. He was sure of it. "Well if we had one...which we don't," he said confidently. "It would probably be that you are the gorgeous and brilliant mother of my children and love of my life."

Stephanie pulled the door open and grinned at him hugely. "Good answer, champ!" She congratulated and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him inside the room.

Hunter kicked the door shut behind them and leaned forward to kiss her waiting lips briefly. "I'm gonna take a shower and then we can go, okay?" He asked, tossing his title belt and weapon to the floor.

Stephanie's face fell drastically. "Can't you shower at the hotel?" She asked. "I really, really want to go now." She went to the couch and pointed at their bags. "Look, I even packed!" She smiled brightly, hoping that it would convince him.

Hunter laughed at her enthusiasm. "I appreciate it, babe. But come on, I had to go through the match smelling of perfume and tasting like fruity lip gloss. And now I'm a sweaty mess. Let me shower, I beg of you," he pleaded with his hands clasped in front of him.

Stephanie couldn't help but start laughing at him. He sounded so pitiful that she couldn't deny him. "Can you make it quick?" She requested. After he nodded in confirmation she added, "I seriously want to get out of here. This place is giving me the willies tonight."

A grin formed on Hunter's lips and he grabbed her hands, walking her into the bathroom. "Shower with me," he suggested. "I'll make you feel safe." He grabbed a hand towel from the counter and began to wipe some of the sweat from the match away.

"This is supposed to be a quick shower," she told him. "You fail miserably at quickness when I'm with you."

Despite her verbal protests Hunter noted that she had yet to leave the bathroom. "So just supervise me. If you want I can promise you that I'll keep my hands to myself," he added innocently. But his brown eyes twinkled with pure mischief.

Stephanie snorted out an incredulous laugh. "Uh huh. You never make promises to me that you can't keep," she reminded him.

Instead of replying, he simply threw down the towel, pulled her up against him and managed to whip her top off over her head before she could do anything about it.

Almost immediately, his lips found their way to her neck. "Hunter," she tried to whine but it came out more like a pleased sigh. "You know I can't resist when..." she trailed off and let out a low moan, grabbing the muscles of his upper back with her hands.

He chuckled against her skin, pressing a playfully loud smack against her neck before pulling away. "I promise nothing, then. Wouldn't want to ruin my perfect record," he grinned, switching on the water in the shower and pulling off his wrestling gear.

Stephanie tilted her head and let her eyes roam shamelessly before sighing in defeat. "Let me just go lock the door," she said, exiting the bathroom.

Hunter's laughter echoed off the walls of the bathroom as he stepped underneath the hot sprays.

An hour later and the couple was walking through the hallway hand in hand. Today had gone exceptionally well in Hunter's opinion. He found out that he was going to be a father again, he defended his wife's honor and retained his title...and he connected with Stephanie physically more than once.

Making things even better was that Stephanie wasn't emitting that strange, distracted, not-completely-present vibe that she had been before telling him about the Orton situation. It made him feel even greater that every part of her truly belonged to him again. At no point did he wonder if she was secretly thinking of Orton when she was with him.

Hunter used his free hand to push the door and hold it open for Stephanie. She shot him a grateful smile, beaming from ear to ear. Most of the talent had already headed to their next destination. Some had gone back to their hotels. Others had gone out to eat. Others had gone out to party.

As for him and Stephanie? They'd head back to the hotel, get a nap in and then catch a red-eye flight back home. Stephanie had texted her doctor and he would squeeze her in as soon as the practice opened in the morning, as always. And they'd find out for sure what was happening with pregnancy number three. If there was time, they might possibly attend Raw that night. But neither one of them was planning on it.

They made it through the underground storage and production area and entered the outdoor parking lot. The cool air felt refreshing against their skin. Just a few hundred feet away, they could see their rental SUV.

Stephanie shook her head in amusement, wondering why she'd allowed Hunter to convince her that getting a Lincoln Navigator was not only beneficial but downright necessary even though the kids weren't with them. He truly was a smooth talker and could make her reconsider most things. She was just thankful that Hunter was a good guy; otherwise he'd probably be talking her into robbing little old ladies before moving on to bank heists.

He unlocked the monstrous vehicle and popped the trunk. He set his own bags aside and put hers in first. Next, he hauled up his suitcase and duffel and slammed the trunk shut.

Hunter gave her a small smile and pecked her lips just because she was there and he felt like it.

Fully aware that she was blushing like crazy, she smiled back at him. "I love you so much," she told him.

Hunter tilted her face upwards and kissed her passionately for nearly a full minute. He broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers. "I love you, too."

Stephanie's eyes fluttered open; she swore she just heard footsteps. That paranoid feeling washed over her again but she didn't want to ruin the moment she was having with her husband. Footsteps weren't a cause for concern; people were still at the arena. Some members of the roster were still lingering about. And most of the production and ring crew were still here working. The closest car to theirs was at least two spaces away in any direction.

Quelling her anxiety, she shifted so that they were hugging instead. Hunter put his head in the crook of her neck, somewhat nuzzling her skin with his nose.

In the reflection off of the back windshield, Stephanie swore she saw movement. She turned her head to face that direction of the lot and didn't see a damn thing. _What the hell? _She asked herself, feeling like being here was just driving her crazy.

Stephanie pulled back from Hunter gently, not wanting him to freak out over absolutely nothing like she was. "Let's get out of here," she said softly.

Hunter nodded and led her over to the passenger's side of the SUV. He opened the door for her and waited until she got settled before he closed it.

He walked around the front of the car, heading to his side when he suddenly heard Stephanie scream, "Watch out!"

Hunter turned around just in time to meet a steel chair head-on. He fell back against the hood of the car, halfway conscious...and very loopy. He felt himself being lifted by his shirt and tossed onto the ground a few feet away.

Stephanie watched her husband slump to the ground in horror. Randy Orton stood above his prone body. She knew it was him because of the haircut and the tattoos. He had changed out of his wrestling attire and was in street clothes. He stood breathing heavily and clutching at his torso with his free hand.

Slowly, Orton turned around and simply stared at Stephanie through the windshield.

A chill crept up and down her spine at the look he was giving her. The trail of blood from earlier was still on his head, beginning on his temple and drying up around his jaw. It was like he hadn't cared enough to get it cleaned up or something. He looked fucking crazy, from her perspective.

"Now!" Orton suddenly yelled.

Stephanie's eyes went wide as the rest of Legacy popped out from their hiding places. Each man had rope draped around their arms and a roll of tape in their hands.

"What the hell?" Stephanie whispered.

Orton simply smiled at the question he'd read on her lips as Legacy came to each side of her husband, holding him down.

They had him in a somewhat prone position. But they held his head up. It was the perfect position for Orton to try to kick him in the skull. Orton blew her a kiss and she felt her insides lurch at the gesture.

Words escaped her, while tears welled in her eyes. Orton had dropped the chair and was backing up and preparing for what he had planned to do to Hunter. Jesus, she could already see the cut that had been made on his forehead from the steel chair. She had to stop this.

Not wasting another second, Stephanie jumped out of the car and ran the few feet over to the scene. "Please don't!" She begged, grabbing onto Orton's arm desperately.

Orton shook her hand off and continued to stare menacingly in Hunter's direction.

"Please, please please!" She said frantically. "I'm begging you! Let him go!"

Randy blew out a heavy breath. "Let him go," he told Legacy.

Stephanie watched as the two men obeyed like they were trained dogs. But she was still grateful. Maybe Orton wasn't as far gone as she and Hunter originally thought. Before she could protest again, she watched helplessly as Orton charged at her husband, kicking him in the ribs instead of his head. Hunter let out a groan before falling to the ground completely.

"Oh, God!" Stephanie exclaimed, placing her hands over her mouth. Without thinking, she ran over to her husband and dropped to her knees by his side. "Baby?" She questioned, her voice fraught with panic. "Hunter?" She tried again. She touched his cheek to see if he was responsive, feeling just a little bit better when he gave an almost silent, muffled grunt.

Orton backed away from the duo and watched the scene, pure disgust and rage enveloping him. His eyes widened as he decided that he was really going through with this. He'd reconsidered for just a moment but now he was sure. He was going to take both of them. He would make Hunter watch what he would do with Stephanie. Why shouldn't he? The opportunity for what he truly wanted to accomplish with those two had presented itself. Sure, he'd lost the title match. But Hunter's wife obviously meant more to him than the belt.

"Tie them up!" He commanded Rhodes and DiBiase.

Stephanie glanced up just in time to see DiBiase coming at her. She screamed when he forcefully yanked her arms behind her back, securing her wrists together with duct tape. Eager to shut her up, Ted placed the duct tape over her mouth. Despite her frantic kicking, he overpowered her and then bound her long legs together at the ankles.

Knowing whose fault this was, she stared up at Orton hatefully. He was just standing there looking on with a proud smirk. What the fuck was wrong with this guy? Was he seriously going to kidnap her?

Hearing more tape coming off the roll, she looked back to her husband. Rhodes had bound his hands and legs also. Stephanie guessed he didn't seem to see a purpose in putting tape over his mouth, given that he was all but unconscious.

Did these people care nothing at all about prison time? She and Hunter were heirs to the WWE empire. Their absence would be noticed; people knew them. There'd be hell to pay.

Orton tilted his head and walked towards Stephanie. He crouched down to her level, slowly running his fingertips along where her lips were. The stare he gave her was the lustful and hypnotic one she had recently become transfixed by. But today, she just saw it as another signal that the man had gone completely insane. "Put them in the truck!" He yelled to his accomplices as he stood upright again.

Both men stopped and looked at Orton questionably.

"Seriously?" DiBiase asked.

"I thought we were just gonna scare them some..." Rhodes said hesitantly.

"IN THE FUCKING TRUCK, NOW!" Orton yelled, grabbing his steel chair from the ground and waving it in their general direction wildly before wincing at the movement.

Stephanie groaned in pain as DiBiase pulled on her arms, forcing her to her feet. Her eyes stayed on Hunter as Ted practically dragged her to the back of the truck.

Randy grabbed the keys from beside Hunter's body and pressed the button to open the trunk of the car.

DiBiase pushed Stephanie forward and she felt an icy chill of panic as her stomach collided with the bumper on the way in. It was bad enough she and Hunter were caught up in this fucking insanity. But unfortunately their unborn child was a part of this, too. He or she was very tiny and very helpless inside of her stomach.

She was left to lie on her side as DiBiase reached over her to set up the third row of the roomy SUV. Once he had it situated, he lifted her and dumped her body over the divider and across the seats. He tossed the rope on the floor in front of her before leaving her all alone.

Stephanie couldn't see what the hell was going on outside anymore but she could certainly hear the commotion. Orton somewhat commanding Rhodes; someone trying to either beat or carry her husband. No scenario that ran through her mind was a good one.

What would happen to them now? What exactly was the point in taking them? Would Orton kill either or both of them? And how was anyone going to explain their disappearance to Mac and DJ? Her thoughts, questions and speculations were jumbled and panic-stricken as the first batch of tears slipped through her eyelashes.


	13. Time

Well I was able to throw this together AND write it in the first person. Go me! Thank you all for the reviews on ch. 12! And thank you miss Caty for that flurry of reviews, lol. Motivated me to get cracking actually!

Sidebar: every time I'm at my Dad's I forget to steal his MS Word software LOL. So I'm still using wordpad and often don't catch typos til after the chapter is posted (if at all). Seriously, I edit these chapters at least 5 times after they're posted and still don't get everything. My apologies for any misspelling or accidental grammatical errors :-D

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><p>Stephanie's POV<p>

Tick, tock...tick, tock.

Every second is so important, though people often take it for granted. One or two seconds means the difference between getting in a car accident or avoiding it. Being shot by someone and barely missing the bullet. Seconds matter.

Sixty seconds make up a minute. I wonder how many minutes Hunter and I had...to have avoided this entire situation. Maybe if I'd insisted that we leave the arena right after the match, things wouldn't have happened this way. In fact, I'm sure of it.

We'd have made it to our hotel. We'd probably be eating or I'd just be wrapped up in his arms. Maybe we'd be drifting off to sleep already, in anticipation of our flight back home.

We wouldn't...be here. God damn it, we wouldn't be here.

I don't have the tiniest clue where _here _even is. See, the Navigator was going to be returned at the airport right before our departure. So Hunter had filled the tank up before coming to the pay per view. With its large gas tank, I'm sure it can go several hundreds of miles before running out. I don't know how long we've been driving; it was already dark out when we were leaving the arena.

Tick, tock...tick, tock.

Every second we get further and further away from anyone who could help us. Really, being in the arena parking lot was our best chance to be rescued. While I laid on the third row of this SUV, they'd been beating Hunter some more. I'd hoped that some employee would finish his work, walk out and see what was happening. He'd call the cops and we'd be saved. But nothing of the sort happened.

The only thing that happened was that my husband took more punishment. He didn't make a peep when they threw him in the trunk area. That means he was completely unconscious. The last time I saw him he'd at least been able to grunt.

I didn't hear them toss out any of our bags, which means they just tossed Hunter in the compartment like he was a damn piece of luggage.

Tick, tock...tick, tock.

Every now and then I can hear the low vibration of my cell phone in my tote bag behind me. I don't hear Hunter's in his back pocket. It wouldn't surprise me if it fell out in the parking lot while he was being assaulted and tied up.

But mine is still here in the truck. I don't know who's calling. I don't know why. I don't know how much longer the battery will have power. I don't know if anyone will be intelligent enough to report our absence to the police and attempt to trace the phone location somehow.

If nothing else, this just shows how ill-prepared Randy is. That this really was a spur of the moment kind of thing. Otherwise he'd have had his cronies be more thorough. He's made a couple of mistakes already: not taping Hunter's mouth and not checking around for cell phones.

Not that that makes me feel any better. There's still the problem of Hunter and I being tied up and him being totally unconscious. It's not like either of us can capitalize on this trio's fuckups.

Tick, tock...tick, tock.

The silence is practically deafening. Cody and Ted aren't saying shit; they're just along for the ride. Orton isn't saying shit. He's driving to God knows where, staring at me using the rear view mirror every now and then.

With every second that goes by, I wonder if he's getting crazier and crazier. I wonder if he's forming new, more heinous plans for Hunter and I. He has to be; it surely doesn't look like he's reconsidering what he's doing.

I don't know if it's better or worse that Hunter is here. If Orton had only kidnapped me I could hold out for hope that my husband would find me and save me. He'd know I was missing and immediately have every cop in the state out searching.

But that's not the case. Hunter is imprisoned just like I am. Unless he wakes up and manages to free himself, he won't be able to help.

And if I'm going to be honest...I'd rather him be out of this. Randy has to have some _very _sick plans ahead since he was crazy enough to kidnap us both. I'm intelligent enough to know what Orton has taken me for. In his sick ass mind, he means to seduce me. That's how he'd see it, anyway...because he's an insane person. He must intend to make Hunter watch, otherwise there'd be no point in taking him. There'd be no point in risking Hunter getting free and beating the living shit out of him.

Other than that, I can't think of any reason that he's taken my husband. I...don't want to even think about what's going to happen to us when and if Orton accomplishes the goals I'm guessing he has.

Tick, tock...tick, tock.

Wake up, Hunter! Please wake up! I'm so worried about you. I don't know what more they've done to you. Are you still bleeding? Do you have a concussion? Is a limb broken? Wake up...wake up and talk to me, please. The last time I saw you, your mouth wasn't taped shut. I didn't hear duct tape being ripped off the roll again so I have to assume you can still talk.

With every second, I hope that you're closer to waking up. Just hearing your voice will be enough to stop my heart from thundering so hard that I worry it's going to break my ribcage.

This is so fucked up! I can't believe this shit is happening! We don't deserve this! Our _baby _doesn't deserve this! Our kids and our family don't deserve to wonder if we've been killed or simply decided to run away by ourselves.

Someone clears their throat. "Where the hell are we going?" Cody asks.

Orton looks at me through the rearview mirror. The hell if I know why. I don't know where this freak is driving to.

"East," is all Randy says to Cody.

The puzzle pieces in my brain start coming together to form a coherent picture.

East.

Hunter and I are from Connecticut; that's east. It's also very fucking far from Texas. So that can't be it.

Randy is from St. Louis, Missouri; that's east. He lives in Saint Charles, Missouri. Cody is from Marietta, Georgia and still lives there; that's east. But each of those is a thirteen hour drive at minimum.

DiBiase is from Baton Rouge, Lousiana. That's not very far at all...only a four hour drive from the arena. But unlike everyone else he doesn't live in the state where he was born. He resides in Tampa, Florida. Again, very fucking far from Texas.

I concentrate hard as I try to make sense of it all. I strain my neck trying to look around for any clues. Anything to help me figure this out. Not that figuring this out is going to do a fucking thing in terms of getting Hunter and I out of this disaster waiting to happen. But I need something to focus on before I lose my mind, too. I have to stay sharp. I have to think.

No...no that's not the whole story. DiBiase was raised in Mississippi. He doesn't live there...but his family lives in Clinton.

I shift on the leather seats as it begins to hit me.

Wrestlemania: the grandest stage of them all. That's always the tagline because it's true. People come from near and far to witness the event live. Both casual fans and wrestling enthusiasts travel to see the show.

The Legacy: a group of third generation superstars. Wrestling is in their family history. It's practically in their DNA. Their families sometimes come to lesser pay per views or to a Raw or Smackdown event.

No way in hell would they miss Wrestlemania. No way in hell!

Which means that the DiBiase house would be totally vacant at this very moment. It's somewhere between six and seven hours away. I've been there before, when I was younger. When Ted DiBiase, Sr. was still an active wrestler. The house is huge. It's relatively secluded; a dirt path leads there.

It's...it's perfect for torturing my husband and I without any interference from neighbors.

I try to say, "shit" but it comes out as a grunt. Orton looks at me, because I've purposely been silent this entire time. I'd been hoping that if I didn't draw attention to myself it would somehow prolong whatever horrors await me.

The look in his eyes is different. It's not that crazed, hypnotic look anymore. It's like...a realization. Maybe my own expression has given away that I've figured out where we're going.

I wonder if Ted knows. Wouldn't he know the way to his family's house? Not that he could or would be willing to do anything to stop this madness.

"Hmm," Randy mumbles. "The Million Dollar Princess is all mine," he says with a smirk.

That's wrong. It's "billion" and not "million." Randy and the entire wrestling world knows that. He just sent me a confirmation of where he's taking us. DiBiase's father was known as "The Million Dollar Man."

I can feel the car veering off to the right side of the road. The large tires are crunching gravel beneath them. More turns are made; too many for me to keep track of as I'm slightly sliding up and down the seats with each one.

Bright lights flood the car and I'm able to sneak a quick peek out of the window. I see gas pumps.

"Cody, you take the money inside. Buy some snacks and put fifty in the tank. Ted, you stay here and wait until he signals you to start pumping the gas."

Big gas tank. Shitty mileage for this large truck. Four-hundred...maybe five-hundred miles tops is about what one tank should do. Clinton, Mississippi is just over four-hundred miles away from where the arena was. If we're almost on empty, that would have to mean we've gone well over three hundred miles already. Meaning we've been driving for five or so hours.

We're more than halfway to the destination...and Randy is making both Cody and Ted take care of the gas. Neither one of them is fully okay with this whole kidnapping thing.

There must be a reason he made both of them get out rather than just one.

And he's not stupid...he has to know that there's a chance Cody would rat him out to the gas station attendant or anyone else who may be nearby. Hell, he could just use a payphone to call the cops himself.

Cody and Ted's doors open simultaneously. I can hear their clothing shuffling against the seats before I hear their doors slam.

Randy looks at me using the rearview mirror and smiles sinisterly. He hardens his face with the effort as I literally hear him slam his foot on the gas. The tires screech as he hauls ass away from the station.

Tick, tock...tick tock.

There goes the only two things that could've stopped this madman. I wonder when he'll have to stop to _actually _get gas. No one will be able to see me or Hunter sprawled out in the truck like this. No one will know we're here.

And Cody and Ted probably don't even know where we're heading. Then there is the possibility that Orton can make it without stopping since he's been driving on the highway this whole time. It's late, so there's no traffic. The gas mileage would be better.

Hopeless. This whole thing seems utterly hopeless.

I shake my head against the seat as a fresh round of tears well up in my eyes and start traveling down my face.

I just want my husband...and my kids. And my house and my bed. I just...God, I just want to go home.

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><p>Hope you all enjoyed being inside her mind. This one is close to its end. I'd love to end it at 15...but it might have to go to 16 or 17 or something, lol.<p>

Loved it? Hated it? Want to kill Randy? Strangle Cody and Ted for twiddling their thumbs? Letting me know via reviews = motivation for me to sit down and write, hee!


	14. Promises, Promises

Well I finished writing and editing this around 6am...to be fair I didn't start until 2 or 3. I'm such an owl, LOL. At any rate, I'm too sleepy to comment on individual questions/concerns on the latest comments to this one. BUT a big THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Enjoy!

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><p>Stephanie's POV<p>

I'm not sure how long it's been since Randy left Cody and Ted stranded at that gas station. I'd imagine no more than fifteen minutes. But I wouldn't be surprised if the utter stress of this situation is throwing my time perception out of whack.

Various scenarios may be the case here. The first is that the DiBiase clue really was only meant for me and that's exactly where we're heading. Simple and to the point. The second is that the clue was meant for everyone purposely...so that if and when his ex-accomplices go to the cops, they send them on a wild goose chase. And the third is that the clues were left so deliberately that no one will believe we're going to that house. It's like lying by telling the truth. The last place they'd expect us to be is where the kidnapper said we were heading to.

If the second option is the one Randy's chosen it leaves me to wonder where the hell he's really going. His house would be at the top of the list for a police hunt and it'd still take him several more hours of driving to get there. It seems both unlikely and risky. But the possibility of my night ending this way was so unlikely that it never even crossed my mind. And Randy clearly doesn't give a flying fuck about risk.

Even if he did perfect his plan and figure out how to evade the police, he was still faced with many disadvantages.

There's one of him and two of us. He's still hurting from the beating my husband dished out in the ring. That's why he was clutching at his upper body during the parking lot ambush. It's also what he needed Cody and Ted for. They were hurting, too...but not as much as Randy. And with Hunter knocked out and me by his side on the ground, we didn't pose much of a challenge.

But now? Randy's alone. Hunter and I are tied up so we can't walk. And Orton is in no physical condition to carry me. Even if he was in tip-top health he'd be in no position to carry Hunter. So he's got to have a plan. If I can figure it out maybe I can throw a wrench in it somehow.

The car veers off to the side and I hear the tires crunching gravel again. We're getting off of the highway.

"I know what you're thinking," Randy says suddenly.

I look up and he's staring at me using the rearview mirror.

Fuck you. Fuck you! FUCK YOU, you CRAZY son of a bitch! That's what the hell I'm thinking, bastard!

Randy smirks at me before turning his eyes back to the road. "No, we're not quite there yet. We just need a little bit of gas. Just want to make sure we don't end up stranded on the side of the road. And we've gotta pick up a couple of supplies."

We? What the fuck does he think this is, a god damn road trip? He seriously thinks I'm a willing participant in this shit? Does he think that I wouldn't throw him out of this car, run him over with it and drive off with my husband if I was given the chance?

Because I'm frustrated and just need to let it out one way or another, I start slamming the back of my head into the seat. It doesn't hurt at all since the seats are plush and leather. But it still feels more useful than just lying here crying my eyes out at random intervals.

Randy makes a disapproving sound of some sort before briefly turning around in his seat to look at me. I feel my eyes widening as his hand inches closer and closer to me. I try to jerk away but it's awfully unsuccessful since I'm already pressed into the seat anyway. I swear I feel like passing out from fear...until I realize that we're still separated by the second row. His arm isn't long enough to get to me.

He blows out a heavy breath and clenches his fist, pulling his hand back to the front. He waits a moment and then presses a finger to his lips. "Shhh. I know waiting is hard. Believe me do I know," he laughs casually. The sexual innuendo is evident by his amusement and blatant pun. "But we're gonna do this right, Steph. Triple H needs to see us consummate our relationship so that he knows you aren't his anymore. But I need to buy a couple of things in case he tries to interfere. In case he refuses to let you go."

My heart. It's not where it's supposed to be, doing what it's supposed to do. It's dropped and it's fallen all the way down to my stomach, I'm sure of it. I feel more warm tears leaking from the corners of my eyes. There's no other way to interpret what Randy just said. He's going to...to...attack me. God, I can't even say the real word even in my head! He's going to...do that. And he's going to have a weapon of some kind so that if Hunter tries to stop him, he'll hurt him. Or worse.

This can't happen. None of this can fucking happen. My kids need both of their parents. They don't need one of us to be fatally injured or a disheveled mess. If ANY of what Randy has just said comes to pass, I can guarantee that either or both of those things will apply to Hunter and I.

"I'm just gonna run in the store real quick," Randy says before turning around and unhooking his seat belt.

What the - I didn't even realize the car had stopped. That's how upset he made me. I can't take this. I just can't. At this rate, I'm going to have a stroke or heart attack before I even get the chance to fight back.

"You must be hungry. Probably thirsty, too because of all the crying," he points out as he opens his door.

Fuck you; I think that's my new favorite phrase where he's concerned.

"I'll grab you a thing or two and you can have it at the house. You'll need your strength...Now you stay here and be a good, quiet girl. But with the tape on your mouth, hands and legs I guess I didn't give you much of a choice."

More laughing from him. Another mental "fuck you" from me.

With his hearty chuckle, he slams the door shut. I listen very closely until his footsteps fade away. This parking lot doesn't sound overly crowded, but isn't deserted either. Obviously this has to be one of those damn 24 hour places. I'm sure that whomever came up with the idea of stores being open 24 hours had good intentions. They probaby thought of people with a nonfatal medical issue requiring medication or bandages or some shit. They probably thought of stoners and drunks who needed help sobering up.

Clearly no one realized the opportunities they were giving to kidnappers, rapists and murderers. To psycho people in general.

With my eyes closed, I start trying to scream but it just sounds like muffled, strangled groaning. Not loud enough for anyone farther than five feet from this car to hear.

"Steph," the familiar, low, gravelly voice of my husband says out of nowhere.

My eyes snap open and I force myself to stop the screaming. But my breathing is still heavy and frantic.

"Are you _physically_ okay?" He asks from behind my row.

He's awake! He's awake and he's coherent! And he's able to think clearly enough to know better than to ask me if I'm emotionally okay. "Mmhhmm," I mumble from underneath the tape.

"You can't breathe through your mouth so you have to stay calm, baby. Just breathe in and out slowly. Okay?" Hunter instructs gently.

I say okay but I'm not sure if that's what it actually sounded like to him. Hopefully he just knows me well enough to know what the hell I'm trying to say.

"I couldn't let you know I was awake without Orton finding out," he says. "I'm beat up but I'll be fine so don't worry about me."

More tears. More erratic breaths entering and exiting my lungs, shaking my entire body in the process.

Hunter sighs sadly. "Please breathe, Steph. I know it's difficult. But you have to. I need you to listen and we don't have a lot of time."

He's waiting for me to calm down, I know. But I can't. He's awake and he's not brain damaged which is a huge relief and I'm happy about it. But at the same time, we're just as fucked as we were five minutes prior. Still tied up, still probably in the middle of nowhere. Still with a nutbag who's coming up with new ways to screw up our lives. And every minute we're getting closer to the place where he intends to execute those plans.

"Stephanie, I love you more than anything in this world and I'm going to find a way to get you out of this. I promise," he says with unwavering conviction and determination.

I worry about you more than I worry about me! That's what I want to tell him but I can't. It doesn't escape my notice that Hunter didn't promise that he would get "us" out of this situation. Just me. During this second relationship of ours, he has never once broken a promise to me. I want to make him promise to include himself in this vow to fight for freedom. That he isn't just going to give up where it concerns his own escape. But I can't because I can't fucking talk!

I need Hunter to survive this ordeal. I need him to go through and share life with me. I need him to help me raise our kids...I need him to be there to love me. It doesn't sit well with me that his only concern is for me making it out of here.

I hear a strange sound. Like the movement of some kind of material. A straining movement. "Ugh!" Hunter groans. "I'm trying to get the fucking tape off but when the goons or Orton was around I couldn't; it's too loud. I'm not sure I'll be able to get it all before he comes back. Baby, you gotta get him to let you talk. Then ask him to turn on the radio, put in a CD or something. Okay?"

"I'll try my best," is what I attempt to say.

"Huh?" Hunter asks, clearly confused.

I roll my eyes. Not at him but at the predicament in general. "Mmhhmm," is what I settle on because it's easier for him to make out.

"I've got two potential plans," he begins. "For both you need to distract him...be nice and sweet. Tell him whatever he wants to hear. Don't argue and don't piss him off; it'll make him more likely hurt you. Now...if I'm able to get out of the tape while he's still driving, I will kick the back of the seat. When I do that...you wait until you see an area that looks like it's populated. Like it's got a few lights nearby that may be houses or businesses. You tell Crazy that you need to use the bathroom really bad. Shouldn't take much to convince him because of how long you've been in here. He'll have to pull over and he'll have to untie your hands and legs. Insist that he stay in the car and not look. Say it's for privacy or dignity or some shit. Be convincing. Actually use the bathroom to throw him off and shift his focus. As soon as you're done just take the hell off running as fast as you can toward the lights. I'll jump out and fight him so you can get away. Don't look back, don't slow down. Get to the first place you can, stay there and get help."

This plan is stupid and I don't like it. Not one damn bit. Not because it's inherently bad or foolish but because it involves me leaving you to fend for yourself. If I know you, you've minimized how badly you're hurt so that I don't worry as much. It isn't working! Not when you're talking about fighting a soon-to-be armed Randy Orton in the middle of the night in the middle of the road.

None of this comes out the way I've intended. When I hear myself it just sounds like garbled, mumbled, panicked, sob-wracked protesting.

That must be what it sounds like to you, so you just start talking over me like I haven't attempted to say anything. "The back-up plan...when we get to where he's taking us that's our chance. He can't possibly carry both of us at the same time. Hell he probably can't even carry one of us at all. I don't know who he'll try to take first. But at some point...it'll just be you and him whether you're inside or outside. I could break free without him knowing, while he's trying to get you situated. He...he can't do what he wants to you unless he eventually unties your legs..."

Hunter trails off and I know what he's thinking. It's exactly the same thing I'm thinking. At this point we both know that Orton has made his intentions clear. I can't say the word. Hunter can't say the word. But we both know what his plan is where it concerns me.

I do my best to keep the crying silent. I know that I need to listen. After this, we won't be able to talk again until we're free. Until WE are free. I'm not leaving him behind, I don't care what he says.

"When he unties your legs...Steph you have to get your hands free and get out of there as soon as possible while I'm fighting him off. There's a spare key to the Nav in the center console. You use it, you leave and you get the hell to safety before you stop to call the cops."

I let out a deep breath to calm myself down. I need and want him to hear my reply loud and clear. Well as clear as is possible. "No!" I mumble.

"Please Stephanie," he practically begs me. "I can concentrate on kicking his ass better if I know you and the baby are safe."

The baby. Shit. In my resolve to stick to Hunter like glue, I completely forgot. It's not just about me. It's not just about Hunter. I have to consider the little person that's growing inside of me. Not that we did this entirely on purpose, but we really did conceive this baby at the most horrible time ever. Literally. Ever.

We love and want our baby. But the timing of this pregnancy couldn't have been worse if we tried.

That's the last thought Hunter is able to leave me with, as Randy opens the back door. He reaches over the seat and touches my cheek with his free hand. "Hello beautiful."

My only outward response is a blink. I can't say the "fuck you" that is in my head because of the tape. And because Hunter told me to be nice. To be calm. Not to piss him off. So that he might not be as inclined to hurt me.

And if he doesn't hurt me, he can't hurt the baby.

His eyes travel down my curled-up body and back up to my face. I can't read his gaze; not completely. He throws his goodie bags up to the front. I watch and listen as they hit the dashboard and fall to the floor. He shrugs at me. "Chips, water, knives," he says nonchalantly.

Knives? He bought knives? Oh my God! That's all I have time to think because the next thing I know he reaches over the second row and shoves his hands under my body.

When he tries to lift me, he lets out a loud groan of pain and stops. "Damn it! My fucking chest and stomach! Triple H is gonna fucking pay for this, I swear!"

I can't panic as much as I desire, because he tries to lift me again. This time he groans even louder but doesn't stop trying. He pushes through the pain to basically drag me up and onto the second row. Apparently not caring about being gentle, he lets my body just sort of fall onto the seats and I land on my side with a thump.

Orton takes his hands away and clutches at his torso, breathing in and out heavily. "There," he says with a wince. "That...that's better. Now you're closer to me."

Great. Just great. Cause that's exactly what I wanted - to be physically closer to the loon who's been systematically wrecking my family life and is now resorting to committing felonies.

Randy slams the door shut and leaves me, going back to his seat in the front. He settles in and starts the engine.

I mumble incoherently. I don't even know what it is I'm trying to say. I can't think clearly, but I don't feel any tears coming down my face. Maybe that means I look somewhat composed.

Randy turns around to me and screws his face up in confusion. "I can't understand you," he says plainly.

I continue to mumble and mutter, trying to force myself to look at least somewhat excited. Like I want to talk to him or something.

He arches an eyebrow at me. "If I take the tape off it has to go back on when we stop for gas, you know. And you have to promise you won't scream until the appropriate time," he says with a smirk as he puts the SUV in reverse and backs out of the parking space.

After putting the car in drive and heading off, he uses the mirror to make eye contact with me. If I'm not careful I'm going to throw up...and probably drown in it because the tape won't let it escape. I ignore the churning of my insides at his reference to screaming.

Randy makes me sick in every possible way, shape and form of the word. Looking back, I'm even more ashamed that I had ever winded up attracted to him at all. Not just because it felt like I was betraying Hunter but because he's an absolute whack job. I can't help but feel like this whole thing is my fault. That maybe if I'd been able to control myself better that one time Orton caught me alone in the locker room, things wouldn't have escalated to this point. While I resisted, I know it was clear to Orton that it was a struggle on my end. If he hadn't been sure I was attracted, he damn sure was after that night.

But thanks to my wonderful husband showering me with love and affection after genuinely trying to understand what I was going through, that attraction is totally gone. Hunter did have his moments of anger, disappointment and frustration with me. Rightfully so. But he didn't try to dish out any guilt; not beyond simply expressing his own feelings.

Hunter supported me; he was there for me and he comforted me. Most of all, he continued to love me and make me feel like the luckiest woman alive. He and I are so different this time around. Some of it has to do with the fact that we're parents. That's softened us somewhat. But we're also different with each other because we know what it's like to totally lose the other.

We're both committed to making sure that never happens again. But I appreciate him so much for forgiving me and giving me what I needed to beat this thing. I couldn't love him more if I tried.

Randy, on the other hand? He utterly disgusts me. But I don't show it. I can't. Instead, I nod my head eagerly, silently agreeing that I won't scream until he _wants _me to. Ugh.

He reaches back with the arm closest to me and rips the tape from my mouth in one fluid motion.

"Ah!" I yelp as I flinch against the seat, feeling like a layer of skin has been taken from my face.

Randy runs his fingertips across my lips several times. I swallow roughly and try to force myself to stay calm. Being able to talk has instantly made me even more nervous about this whole thing. Now our survival depends upon my acting skills. On me not saying all of the insulting yet true things that are in my head. On me being able to do what Hunter told me to so that he can get free.

"Mmm," Randy mumbles. "There's those lips I know and love."

I really hope Cody, Ted or someone has called the police and they've figured out where we're going. Or that news reports on our kidnapping are being shown and someone from the store recognized Randy and has called it in. Or maybe someone just reported him as suspicious because he's walking around with bloodstains on his head. Any of those is fine...and welcomed. Cause I seriously don't think I'm going to be able to do this.

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><p>The next chapter will most likely be in the 3rd person and we'll see the couple's attempts to escape. Will they be successful? Will Stephanie miscarry? Will her strange attraction to Orton return once he has her to himself? Will someone get stabbed in the process? Mwahahaha. LOL.<p>

Drop your thoughts :-)


	15. Jumping the Gun

Another chapter finished at 6am. I swear I'm going to start taking sleeping pills. LOL. Hahaha yes Caty, reply-flurries always motivate me to get cracking ASAP. More plot advancement and more crazy happening in this chapter. And some of you reviewers' speculations will be seen in this one. I debated on where to cut this chapter off at. Decided to leave a little cliffhanger there. LOL. Enjoy! This is in the 3rd person (I really do enjoy writing in the first person but then I can't incorporate the whole scene and other people's thoughts really..bummer).

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><p><em>Be nice, <em>Stephanie told herself firmly. _Be nice, be sweet. Don't curse him out. Don't yell. Don't show your attitude. Pretend nothing is wrong. Pretend you're okay. _"You've been driving for a long time," she commented.

Randy looked at her using the mirror and nodded, a small smile on his lips. "We have."

_Shit. Gotta remember to refer to this as a joint effort. He thinks we're in this together. _Already she was fucking this up and she hadn't said more than a few words. Stephanie cast her eyes downward while she composed herself and tried to figure out what to say next. How was she supposed to start and maintain a conversation with someone that made her completely sick, but currently held she and her husband's fate in his hands?

Stephanie looked up again as she heard Randy shift around on the leather seat. He was looking at her again, but this time he seemed contemplative.

"But it's worth it. It's minimal compared to how long I've waited for you."

Stephanie swallowed hard. She didn't really want to know the answer to her next question. She honestly didn't care. But if she could fake an interest then it would be easier to sway him into turning on some audio. He wouldn't be as suspicious of her motives. "How long have you been waiting?"

"In a couple of weeks it would have been three months."

A lightbulb went off in her mind as she counted backwards. If she wasn't mistaken, that was the same night Orton kicked her father in the head. The same night that she'd assumed she developed the weird and unhealthy attraction to him. She fell silent and drew her bottom lip in, chewing on it nervously.

"Do you want me to tell you about it?" He asked suddenly, cutting his eyes from the road and to the mirror.

Against the seat, she nodded slowly. The look that he was giving her suggested she better listen or else pay the consequences. Hunter was in the back listening to this shit, she knew. She wasn't sure how much deeper this conversation was going to get or the intensity of what she would have to say to enact Hunter's plan. But she hoped to God that as he listened, he knew that it was all a lie on her end. She hoped Hunter knew that she wasn't interested in Randy's feelings or opinions. Nor did she care about or want him in any way.

"Hmm!" Randy muttered, huffing out a breath. "You'd fired Chris Jericho one week before. Rumors had spread that you were gonna fire me. You're a woman...I figured I could sweet talk you into not firing me. I was flirting. And you were flirting back."

Stephanie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. No, she was not flirting with him. He'd come into her office while she'd been on the phone with Hunter's mother, giving her instructions for Morgan. Her little girl had been fighting off a fever. She'd ended the call and agreed to let Orton sit down. He'd plopped down almost right next to her and she'd simply been polite by giving her employee her undivided attention. After his blatant ass-kissing she'd briefly tapped his knee to interrupt his speech and shut him up. She'd smiled at him for all of five seconds before calling him on his intentions and telling him to get out.

Naturally - because she could now plainly see that he was a crazy person - that resulted in him yelling and hurtling baseless insults at her. When she'd had enough, she'd slapped the shit out of him. She'd stood her ground, not backing down despite the look he had given her. She was his boss and could end his career if she really wanted to. And she was Triple H's wife...he could end anybody's career in a physical way if he really wanted to. They'd had a staredown match before Randy finally left.

On what planet did any of that constitute flirting? She had no idea. Instead of disagreeing with him, she remained quiet while he reminisced...or whatever this was.

Randy's voice turned darker and he inhaled deeply. "You...threw me for a real fucking loop when you told me to get out. And then to top it off you slapped me."

Again, she suppressed her eye roll. He was conveniently leaving out the fact that he'd basically called her a spoiled, useless, unrespectable nobody before she slapped him. If he seriously thought she'd slapped him without good reason, then fine. History had shown her that he wasn't exactly a rational person. He'd gone off the damn deep end, so trying to make him see sense about it wasn't going to magically make him stop doing what he was doing now.

"I...wanted more alone time with you. But since your Dad was returning that night I knew you'd probably distance yourself and let him deal with me directly. So I came out once you guys were done with Jericho. I wanted to make you so angry that you'd want to stick around and handle me yourself. Anything to get near you more often. But then your Dad told you to leave the ring. I just...I got so fucking angry that he took you away from me. And the next thing I knew...I'd kicked him in the head."

Stephanie simply stared back in stunned silence for a moment. But she knew she needed to say something here. In Orton's mind he had probably just poured out his heart or something. "That's...that's," she started and trailed off. _Sick, twisted, disturbed, crazy, _she thought. "Um. Quite a story. It's quite a story. I had no idea you felt that way...about everything."

Randy nodded at her. "Ever since that night, Steph...all I've tried to do is have you all to myself for more than a moment. But people keep fucking interrupting us and stealing my moments with you. And you!" He accused, his voice growing angry. "You hardly pay me _any _attention when I'm with you! You're trying to help Vince...or Shane...or fucking Triple H! Sometimes I get so angry that I hurt you...because you're never focused on just me!"

_Because I don't love you, psycho! _Jesus, he was acting as if he was some lovestruck boy trying to make his feelings known to his crush. But that wasn't the case here. They were adults. Each of them was married. She didn't know the state of his marriage. But she knew that she definitely and deeply cherished hers. After beating up her family members in some fucked-up attempt to draw her out he was actually offended and insanely angry that her focus had been on tending to said family member.

"I'm sorry," she forced herself to say. "I'm sorry that I didn't pay more attention to you. It was wrong of me."

In the back, Hunter averted his eyes upward. He had to hope that Randy was too far gone to realize Stephanie was lying right through her teeth. Anyone who knew her even halfway decently would be able to tell easily. Not only was she hesitating with her replies, but she didn't sound at all sincere.

It wasn't exactly easy to just lie back here and be quiet while he listened to Randy drone on about how he came to be obsessed with his wife. He wanted nothing more than to tell Randy where he could shove his sick ass feelings and desires. But that wouldn't do anything except get everyone in this situation hurt.

"It was _very _wrong of you to tease me that way," Orton agreed. He sighed heavily and glanced at her once before turning his eyes to the road. "Rejection is new to me...you don't know how badly I wanted you that day. It just kept increasing and multiplying. I can't - I can't think of anything except for you. Except how great it's gonna be to finally be able to be with you."

Forcing down the bile in her throat and tears in her eyes, she managed not to just start screaming for help. There was no one who could help her at this moment, so that was a waste of breath and energy. She needed to conserve both. Furthermore, Randy seemed to have drifted off into the land of delirium. In truth, he didn't exactly seem to care about whether she replied or not. That was good, because she truly didn't have a damn thing to say about this. At least, nothing that was positive.

Total silence filled the car for a couple of minutes until Stephanie finally cleared her throat. "Um, do you think we can listen to the radio?"

Randy's eyes quickly cut to the mirror and narrowed. "What, you don't want to talk to me?"

"It's not that!" Stephanie interjected immediately. "I just have this weird quirk...about cars. And radio. Music. Have to have it, you know."

Stephanie breathed out in relief that he seemed pleased with her answer. She really was just thinking on her feet here. She had no idea what to expect from him. No idea what level of crazy talk would come out of his mouth. Whatever it was, she had to just go with it. Just act like she was perfectly fine with being here under these circumstances.

Randy chuckled a little bit as he reached forward to turn the audio system on. "I wonder what other quirks and pet peeves I'll get to learn about you," he said.

_That I fucking can't stand the sight of you? _Stephanie thought bitterly. He was her biggest damn pet peeve at this moment.

Hunter smiled proudly as he heard the radio come on and Randy begin to flip through the stations. Phase one was complete. All Stephanie had to do was keep the conversation going somehow and get him to keep the radio on at this volume. It was perfect for masking the sounds of the tape.

"What's your favorite position?" Randy asked her.

Hunter's blood ran cold and he narrowed his eyes in the direction of the front of the truck. How dare he fucking ask her something so personal and intimate. Things like that were supposed to be solely for his knowledge and their benefit.

"I-uh...what?" Stephanie asked. She had a good idea of what he was talking about. But she wasn't volunteering to answer, if there was any way possible to avoid it.

Randy shrugged. "Sexually," he said easily. Casually. As if there was nothing at all wrong with his inquiry. "What's your favorite position?" God, he couldn't wait to find out. He was barely containing his excitement as it was. His dreams and his fantasies about her were all about to come true in a very short amount of time. He'd guessed and imagined everything about her - her likes and dislikes...the parts of her body that were always frustratingly covered by clothes.

It was going to end soon. The frustration would end and he'd have what he wanted. He just wanted to know what he was in for. A bit of a cheet sheet for their time together.

Stephanie was going to have to give an answer. Hunter had figured that much out. Randy would get suspicious of and angry with her if she withheld. They couldn't afford for that to happen. He just made a mental vow that Stephanie's answer wouldn't matter. In Randy's mind, knowing the answer for this would probably result in a customized assault. Not that the loon would see it that way. He'd probably think he was being romantic and giving Stephanie what she wanted.

Hunter was determined that the knowledge would do Orton absolutely no damn good. He wasn't going to get that far with her; he'd make sure of it.

Stephanie hesitated and rubbed her hands together nervously behind her back. "I-I don't have one."

Randy laughed at her. "Come on, everyone has one."

"I don't. I like variety." That was partially true. She had her favorites depending on her mood, the place and her urgency. But only her husband was privy to those details. Only he was allowed to make use of them.

"Variety," Randy said with a pleased smile. "I like that answer. A lot. Any tattoos, piercings or other things about your body I should know about?"

Unable to help herself, her jaw squared in anger and her cheek twitched with her irritation. Damn him. Damn him straight to hell. "No," she said firmly.

The radio crackled as Randy settled on a station. "Before we get back to the music, this just came in. WWE Superstar Hunter 'Triple H' Helmsley and his wife...heiress to the company, Stephanie Helmsley have been kidnapped. The suspect is fellow WWE Superstar Randy Orton. They were last seen at a Chevron station right off of the I-55 north about forty miles out from Jackson, Mississippi. The vehicle is described as a black Lincoln Navigator with Texas license plates. If you have any information regarding this incident please call 911 immediately."

_Shit. _"The car came with satellite radio. You could switch to that. No commercials and no talking unless you put it on a talk radio station," Stephanie pointed out as an alternative. She could literally see Randy shaking with anger. This wasn't what they needed. They needed him calm and collected. Not ready to fly off the handle and hurt one of them. Though technically, he intended to hurt her even if he didn't see it that way.

"They think I fucking kidnapped you?" He yelled.

_Think? That's exactly what you did! _Hunter thought sarcastically as he shook his head and continued trying to free his legs. So far, that seemed easiest. He just had to bend his feet towards his hands and work at picking apart the material. He was making progress, but it was still too slow for his liking. He couldn't chance going faster, lest he make too much noise.

"I'm rescuing you from Triple H!" He declared angrily. "I'm the better man and he won't admit it! You obviously want me and he can't accept it. I'm just doing my part to make sure he sees the fucking truth!"

When Randy slammed his hands against the steering wheel, Stephanie flinched as the car unintentionally veered sharply to the side before Randy steadied it again. If he kept this up, he was going to go off road and kill them all by crashing into a damn tree or ditch.

"I know. I understand," she tried to reassure him desperately. On the inside she felt the exact opposite. The man had really totally and completely left reality and was living in some fantasy world where he was her knight in shining armor saving her from the evil villain. But that wasn't true. The roles of the two men were acutally reversed.

It was corny, but that's how she genuinely felt about Hunter. He always made her feel safe and tried his damndest to protect her. In a fair fight, she couldn't easily think of anyone he couldn't beat. Which was probably why Randy tended to resort to three-on-one attacks, handcuffing, weapons and now tying him up.

"Is that what you think?" He asked her sternly. "Do you think I'm holding you against your will? That what I'm doing isn't the best for us?"

_I don't think you're holding me against my will. I know you are. The tape that binds my arms and legs, the rope that's waiting for me on the floor and the knives in your bag are a testament to that. And over my dead body will there be an us. _"You have our best interests at heart." She was going to throw up. It was just a matter of time. Orton was getting more mentally ill and graphic by the minute. And the lies she was having to tell were quite literally making her sick to her stomach.

Seeing that the road ahead was deserted, Randy turned his head to look at her. He reached out and stroked her cheek. He thought they were having a moment; Stephanie was simply trying not to jump out of her own skin. "I'm glad you know that," he told her honestly. "I can't wait to...to make love to you."

_Love? Love? _The voice inside her head squeaked. Is that what he called this very dysfunctional, extremely illegal shit? Stephanie pressed her lips into a tight line, her stomach clenching hard and fast a couple of times. She would not throw up. She would not. There'd just be no way to explain it in a way that wouldn't make this worse. She couldn't tell him how much his very presence churned her stomach. Nor was she willing to tell him that she was pregnant with her third child by Hunter. Call her crazy, but she didn't think that would sit too well with Orton. She wouldn't put herself or her family any more at risk than they already were.

Randy turned back around and his eyes widened at the giant pothole in his upcoming path. It was too late to swerve out of the way, so he opted to just tap the brakes and roll over it.

In the back, Hunter accidentally let out a little grunt of surprise as he and all the bags were thrown forward against the back of the third row, making a thudding noise. Added to Orton's long, long list of defects was that the guy couldn't fucking drive. Hunter smirked at his thought and went back to the task of trying to free his legs.

On the second row, Stephanie couldn't help the smile that spread across her lips. That was the signal; Hunter was free. It was time to run. She squinted her eyes as she craned her neck forward. It was very near to being dawn. The sun was definitely still below the horizon, so whatever city they were in was still mostly shrouded in darkness. Except for the white lights that represented civilization up ahead.

If that Chevron station was forty miles from Jackson, that meant they were a little over an hour away from Clinton at that time, perhaps. So most likely Orton was actually going to go to the DiBiase house. Not that much time had passed since he left the station and whatever store he'd gone to. He hadn't found another gas station yet. But if they were that close, there was a good chance he didn't need to stop.

"I have to use the bathroom!" She said frantically and suddenly.

Hunter's head snapped up. "What?" He whispered as lowly as possible. "It's not time yet," he hissed to himself. What the hell was Stephanie doing? He hadn't given her the signal. He seriously hoped that she just wasn't able to hold off on going to the restroom any longer. Surely she wasn't about to try to escape. He wasn't yet prepared to help her get away.

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><p>So the suitcases thudding against the seat were mistaken for Hunter's kicking signal. Will Hunter break his silence to warn her (revealing to Orton that he is in fact awake and possibly further screwing up the plan)? If Stephanie takes off running, will Orton catch her? Will Hunter be able to get totally free to help her? Will she make it to a place where she can get shelter and help? Or will the venue of Orton's sick plot just be changed?<p>

Teehee! ;)


	16. The Chase Is On

Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter guys! Enjoy this one! I struggled with where to cut it off at..it was at about 3300 words originally. So the 1000 that I cut out will go into the next chapter!

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><p>Whatever the hell town this was, it absolutely sucked. Stephanie had been stalling as she crouched behind the bush. She'd been looking around hoping that she could signal a passing car for help.<p>

If luck was well and truly on her side, it would be a cop that was going by. It wasn't too much to hope for, considering the police's search began less than sixty miles back.

But no cop had driven by. No car had driven by, period.

Did people in this town not fucking work or something? Judging by the position of the sun and how far back that gas station was, it had to be around six in the morning. Graveyard shift workers should be heading home. People who worked morning jobs should be heading out. But yet she hadn't seen a single soul yet.

The only signs she saw that people actually lived out here were the lights on in the houses and buildings she could see from a very much too far distance.

At any rate, she was out of options. Hunter had told her to run. And since no one was coming up the road of this damn ghost town, it looked like she was left with no choice but to do just that. Running for help was going to be their only chance to stop Randy. Unless of course this plan somehow failed. Then they'd have to try another escape at the DiBiase house.

It hadn't been that easy to even get Randy to let her out of the car. She had no trouble convincing him that she seriously needed to pee; it was expected given that they'd been driving so long. But Randy's argument was that if he could hold it, so could she. She'd begged, pleaded and even gone as far as having her eyes well up with tears to get him to agree to let her out.

He'd cursed and muttered under his breath as he'd driven off of the highway and into the dirt. He parked the car wordlessly and shut off the engine. He shoved the keys into his back pocket and came around to the passenger side of the SUV. Stephanie heard him fumble around with his packages up front and couldn't help it when her heart began to race. She knew at least one of the bags contained knives.

When he had what he wanted, he'd angrily wrenched open her door and yanked her legs straight. Upon seeing him lower the knife, she trembled with fear, convinced he was going to stab her. But he didn't; instead he just cut the tape and freed her legs.

The fear didn't go away, though. It increased tenfold when Randy basically climbed on top of her. He'd given her that used-to-be lustful but now just batshit insane stare as he ran his hands from her jean-clad thighs up to her arms. Her breaths were coming and going in short gasps. Not just because he was touching her but because he was also doing so with the knife still in his hand.

Orton had tilted his head and reached behind her to grab her bound wrists sharply. He leaned down, making it so that his body hovered directly above hers.

Stephanie closed her eyes, fearing that the look in them would betray her lack of calm and her disgust. She felt and heard the knife cut through the tape, right as Randy licked the side of her neck before pressing a kiss to the area. It was horrifying and disgusting. It was a far cry to how the very same physical action by her husband made her feel.

When Hunter did that to her, she was hot for him instantly. Not that she was ever really "cold" when it came to physical contact with him. But when Hunter touched her this way, it basically melted the clothes right off of her. Randy just made her want to burn her skin off from scrubbing and disinfecting it more than a few times.

"Stay put," he whispered against her ear before getting off of her. She opened her eyes and watched as he headed back to the front of the car. He tossed the knife down on the seat and pulled open the glove compartment. He yanked out a couple of napkins and held them out to her. "Here," he said.

Stephanie had wanted to look back and see if she could catch a glimpse of Hunter. She'd heard his voice but she desperately wanted to see his face for reassurance and comfort. But that was risky. So instead, she'd sat up, grabbed the napkins with a seemingly grateful smile and hopped out of the car. She'd sretched her legs and her arms before turning to look at Randy. She didn't want to make any sudden movements or do anything to piss him off.

Orton had twisted his mouth in comtemplation before pointing at a medium-sized bush a few feet away. "You can go over there," he instructed.

Stephanie swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. "I-I would feel better if...if you'd stay here. And-and not look."

His blue eyes went cold and hard and he stared a hole through her. "Why?"

Shrinking under his intense and angry expression, she managed to smile at him somewhat. "I am a lady," she said. "A lady needs her privacy."

Randy inhaled and exhaled deeply before turning around to face the truck. "Fine," he said. That made sense. The woman was already having to lower herself to peeing on the side of a deserted road in a bush. For her dignity, he could look away. After all, he'd get to see all of her very soon.

Stephanie had darted her eyes between him, the back of the truck and the road while she did what she needed to. She was studying her surroundings and trying to figure out the best way to get away.

With not a car in sight, she gave up on that as a route of assistance.

There were more structures lit up on the other side of the highway. But that would require her to sneak past Randy, run across the road and then run however far it was to get to safety.

She wasn't sure at what point Hunter would jump out. Obviously it would have to be after he was sure she had run off. She could make more headway if she just took off while Randy's back was turned.

Inside the SUV, Hunter was still working on getting the tape off. Randy had shut off the engine and thusly the music. But since he was outside, he was able to continue pulling the tape off.

"Yes!" He exclaimed lowly as he finally got the tape from around his ankles. He stretched his legs as much as he could and started trying to pull apart the tape on his wrists. This one would be trickier, no doubt.

While he was focused on his task, he was also listening closely to what was going on outside. So far, he didn't really hear anything. Which was good; that meant Stephanie wasn't trying to escape yet, nor was Randy trying to attack her in some way.

Outside, Stephanie licked her lips and took a deep breath before she turned and sprinted off. Her footsteps thudded in the grass and twigs snapped beneath her shoes as she ran away as fast as she possibly could.

Randy heard the noise and quickly spun around. "Hey!" He yelled in surprise. "Where the fuck are you going? Get back here, NOW!" He squared his jaw in anger as Stephanie continued running like he hadn't said a damn thing to her. He cursed under his breath as he reached into the car and grabbed the knife he'd used to set her free. He stretched his arm into the backseat and picked up the rope and the roll of duct tape from the floor before he growled loudly and started running after her.

"Fuck!" Hunter yelled, not caring how loud he was. Stephanie had decided to run. What the hell was she thinking? He couldn't do much of anything with his wrists still bound.

Hunter used his legs to move around in the back. It took a lot of his upper body strength to lift himself to a sitting position. He squinted into the distance and saw Orton running after his wife. It looked like she had a good lead on him. But Orton was physically stronger and could use that strength to push himself to run faster. He had to get out of here. And he had to get out of here now. He didn't want to think about what would happen to Stephanie if and when Orton caught up to her.

There was still the problem of his hands being tied - literally. He had to get them free. Maybe if he kicked out the glass back here he could use a shard to cut the tape. It was risky, but if it helped he'd do it.

While he looked around quickly for the best escape route, it hit him. _Knives, _he thought suddenly. There was a bag of knives up front. He knew that's what Orton used to free Stephanie; he'd heard it. He didn't like how long it took him up there, but he wouldn't allow himself to speculate on what the fucker had done to his wife as he freed her.

Hunter kicked at the release lever of the trunk until it finally popped open for him. With awkward posture, he ran to the front and easily spotted what he wanted, since Orton had left the package in plain sight. Hunter turned his back to the car and used his hands to feel around inside the plastic casing.

"Ouch," he said as the blade nicked his skin. He adjusted his hands and carefully felt around until he found the handle. He pulled the knife up and slowly sliced through the duct tape.

_Damn it, everything looked so much closer from the car, _Stephanie thought as she continued running. Her heart was hammering in her chest. Partially from the physical effort but mostly from fear. She heard heavy footsteps behind her. They were gaining on her from what it sounded like. But Hunter had told her not to look back. She knew why; turning around would slow her down. But even with her current pace, Orton was going to catch up to her soon.

Where the hell was Hunter? He'd given her the signal and she'd followed it just as he told her to. She'd followed all of his instructions, right down to the letter.

But she didn't hear a second pair of footsteps. She didn't hear his voice calling after her, nor threatening Orton. And her husband wouldn't break his promise. He just wouldn't.

Her mind flashed back to the moments before she executed the plan. Randy had turned around and touched her cheek. She'd tried and succeeded at not hurling right then and there. He'd turned back around and she felt the car slow down. Right before it made a sharp dip and then jumped back up. That's when she'd heard it. That's when she'd heard Hunter's signal.

The timing was rather odd, now that she thought about it. Hunter was smart; he wouldn't risk his signal being confused with something else.

But she'd distinctly heard something in the trunk hit the third row. Just like Hunter told her he would when the time was right.

The sound of her buzzing phone entered her mind. And it hit her; their bags were back there, as well. One of them could have easily gone forward and made the noise.

"Shit," she whispered but continued to run anyway. She'd obviously screwed up royally. But it was too late to stop now. And there was a house that looked like it was just a few hundred yards away. The lights weren't on and it looked kind of unkempt but she didn't give a shit. She'd wake the damn people up with her yelling if that's what it took. And she'd hide in a treehouse if it would shield her from Randy.

"Don't you fucking run from me!" Randy yelled as he pushed himself to run harder. "Ugh!" He groaned out, realizing that he couldn't make full use of his arms with the crap in his hands. He threw the tape at Stephanie's back.

Stephanie didn't fall, but the surprise did make her flinch and slow down momentarily.

Knowing Randy was hot on her tail, Stephanie picked up the pace again and ran up the three decrepit steps that led to the porch of the old house.

"Help me!" She screamed, banging on the door with both hands. "Help me, please! Please open the door!" She yelled.

"I'm being attacked!" She yelled and finally resorted to kicking at the door as well.

Behind her, Randy smirked cruelly and slowed his pace down so he could grab the tape again. He jogged up the steps and grabbed a handful of Stephanie's long, brown hair.

Stephanie sucked in a sharp breath when she realized he had caught up to her. She winced when Orton yanked on her hair harshly, pulling her tightly against his chest.

"Looks like no one is home, Princess!" He said in her ear.

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><p>Randy's plot venue change? Check. Stephanie running offscrewing up? Check. Hunter free? Check. Randy and Stephanie alone? Check.

Now what? You tell me your guesses, lol


	17. Better

Still holding onto a thrashing Stephanie, Randy gave the door a kick.

His abs and his chest were fucking killing him. Triple H's sledgehammer beating combined with this accidental cardio workout combined with holding Stephanie captive were really taking its toll on his aching body.

Randy grunted loudly and mustered all of his strength, using it to kick the door again. The wood splintered and the door opened, revealing the dusty, run-down home.

"Perfect!" He exclaimed as he forced Stephanie inside and turned her around to him.

Her face was extremely frightened...and extremely beautiful. But he had to punish her. He had to let her know that it wasn't okay to try to leave him. He twisted his lip briefly before backhanding her in the face. He watched...and listened with satisfaction as she whimpered and lost her footing.

Stephanie tripped over some old torn up rug and fell backwards, hitting her temple against a neglected coffee table. She groaned out in pain and didn't know which wound was hurting more. Randy's hands were big and he'd managed to hit her in the cheek and the lip at the same damn time. Both places throbbed and ached...as did her head from falling into the table.

"Hmm," Randy mumbled appreciatively as he looked around. "This is even better," he commented before shifting his gaze down to Stephanie. She was still lying on the floor, curled into a slight ball and holding her head.

They were in the middle of nowhere in an abandoned house. Unlike with the DiBiase house, he could keep her here forever if he so desired because nobody was coming back to this place. He threw the rope near a chair in the living room and sat the duct tape down on the coffee table. He got on his knees next to her and grabbed her chin, lifting her face from the floor.

Instinctively, Stephanie flinched back and tried to avoid looking into his eyes. Randy sighed, seeing that she was being uncooperative. "All right," he affirmed before reaching out for the tape.

Still dazed from hitting her head, Stephanie weakly struggled against him. He was overpowering her and trying to tape her to the damn table, she realized.

Suddenly, Randy's head snapped up and he narrowed his eyes. Triple H was tied up and unconscious, the last time he'd checked. But he did hear a noise as he was running off after Stephanie. Maybe the guy had finally woken up and had somehow gotten free. It had been a good five to ten minutes since he and Stephanie had left the car. It wasn't entirely impossible.

Even if it wasn't Triple H..._someone _was coming. He grabbed Stephanie by the arms and made her stand up and face the door.

_It's quiet, _Hunter thought. Too damn quiet. Neither Randy or Stephanie was in sight outside and it looked like the front door of this upcoming house had been broken. Not wanting to waste any more time, he ran up the steps and intended to immediately start beating Randy's psychotic ass.

"Hunter, no!" Stephanie called out through her tears as soon as she spotted him.

The sight before him halted any further movement. Hunter wasn't entirely certain he was even breathing right now. His body shut down once he saw Randy with a knife pressed to Stephanie's throat. A slow trail of red had already leaked down.

"Oh look!" Randy said. "Everyone's here now the show can begin!" He commented sickly before pressing a long kiss to the corner of Stephanie's mouth as she tried to turn her head to avoid the violation.

From the looks of things...her cheek was swelling and her lip was cut and also puffing up. Her temple was sporting a bruise and a small cut. Hunter's concerned brown eyes locked with her terrified blue ones and he mouthed his apology for what was currently happening. Hell, for what had already happened.

Stephanie nodded in acknowledgement and shut her eyes tightly for a moment, tears running down both sides of her face silently.

Randy shook his head and let out a disapproving sigh. "Drop it, Hunter," he said in a mockingly polite tone.

Immediately, Hunter opened his hand, dropping the knife. Stephanie's safety was in grave jeopardy and now was not the time to make the unstable Randy Orton any more volatile. In hindsight, he should have stuffed the damn thing in his pocket where no one could see it. Now he had no weapon whatsoever. Meanwhile, Randy Orton had a knife. More importantly, he had Stephanie.

Randy jerked his head towards the chair directly across from them. "See that rope over there?" He asked. "Tie your thighs to the seat of the chair. I'll be watching you...So make it good and tight or we'll have to shed some more red here," he threatened, slightly lifting the knife so that he could wiggle it.

Noticing that Hunter hadn't yet moved a muscle, Randy said, "Go on now. We'll be with you shortly to take care of the rest."

Hunter swallowed harshly. His mouth and his throat had gone dryer and dryer as his anger, worry and fear kept escalating. He kept his eyes focused on Orton, staring at him with pure hatred as he went over to the chair. Orton gestured for Hunter to sit and he did.

"Good boy," Orton commented with amusement. "Now the tying," he instructed.

Hunter bristled and shook with anger as he bent down and retrieved the rope. He began to loop it over his thighs and under the chair. "This rope...it won't fucking hold me forever. Don't you fucking harm another damn hair on my wife's head!"

"Well then the both of you had better cooperate. You both better do what I say, when I say it! Now keep tying!" Randy yelled.

Hunter breathed in and out so hard that it was audible. But he did as he was told.

"I've waited for this moment for so long," he commented in Stephanie's ear delirously but kept his eyes fixed on Hunter. He used his free hand and touched Stephanie's neck before running it down to her collarbone. He rubbed from left to right, smiling at the way her chest heaved with her increased breathing as she tried to squirm away from him.

Stephanie bit down hard on her lip and screwed her eyes shut in disgust when Randy's hand groped her chest. She opened her eyes again, her gaze landing on Hunter's. She could see that he wanted to literally kill Randy Orton at this very moment.

But he couldn't because the knife was still pressed dangerously close to her skin. "Please stop," she requested with as much control as she could manage. She wasn't sure how good of a job she was doing since her stomach was turning somersaults, her heartbeat was erratic, her breaths were shallow, her head was pounding and the tears had yet to stop escaping from her eyes.

"But you feel _so _good, Steph. And Hunter's finally watching. Come on," he urged, pulling her body closer to his.

"Touch her that way again and I fucking swear to God, Orton-" Hunter began.

"HEY!" Randy finally snapped. "You don't talk to me that way!" He yelled. To prove his point he pressed the blade harder against Stephanie's neck. He smiled when Hunter's eyes widened, knowing that he'd successfully made her bleed again. "Ah," he sighed contentedly at the silence from the other man. "Much better."

Silence enveloped the room as the three of them looked at each other. Hunter's eyes were on Randy, appraising the crazy that he reeked of and looking for any opportunity to stop this madness. Stephanie's eyes were on Hunter, looking for comfort and reassurance and hoping for some signal...some silent communication of a plan. Randy was staring at Hunter, waiting for him to finish tying himself to the chair. But his real mental focus was on Stephanie.

"Done," Hunter said lowly as he secured the rope. Maybe if he'd participated in any extracurricular activities besides weightlifting when he was in school, he would know how to tie some trick knot. Something where all he had to do was pull a certain part of it to get free.

Randy nodded his head and carefully leaned over to grab the tape from the table. He was making sure his grip on Stephanie didn't get too loose. He dragged her over to where Hunter was, stopping when they were very close. Randy tugged hard on the rope, smirking when it didn't give way very much. "Good," he commented and shoved the roll of tape into one of Stephanie's hands. "Finish it!" He hissed into her ear.

Stephanie's jaw dropped in astonishment. "What?" She asked, with her eyes wide. Not that Randy could see her surprise, given that he had her back turned to him.

"Wrap the tape around his arms and the chair until I say it's enough," he instructed.

Bewildered and reluctant, Stephanie shook her head and said nothing. Tape her husband to the chair? No way. She couldn't be an active part in something that would most definitely end up getting him even more hurt. He had tried to hide it, but she'd noticed the way he'd favored his ribs while he tied himself to the chair. It was evident in the way he held his left arm close to the area, subconsciously protecting it.

For good reason, he obviously didn't want her nor Randy to be aware that he was injured. But he couldn't hide it from her; she knew him and his movements and expressions too well. Plus, she had seen Randy punt him in the ribs when they were taken. It made sense that the area was hurting him.

Impatience winning out over rationality, Randy threw Stephanie to the floor. Quickly, he reached out and punched Hunter in the face.

"Stop!" Stephanie yelled as she regained her bearings and began to try to stand.

Randy reached down and grabbed a handful of her hair.

Stephanie yelped and her hands instinctively started clawing at his, trying to get him to loosen the grip as he yanked her back to her feet.

Hunter glared at Randy before moving his mouth around. He spit blood out to the side, further staining the dirty, beige carpet. Randy could beat him unconscious for all he cared. But he would not sit here and tolerate the man abusing Stephanie. The fact that the son of a bitch had already done so simply made his blood boil. But the bottom line was that she was in for much more pain if she didn't start listening to the asshole. "Do what he says, Steph."

Stephanie looked at him, knowing that he was communicating something else to her. She remembered their earlier conversation...how he had told her to be nice and sweet. Not to argue with Orton or do anything to piss him off. Otherwise he would definitely hurt her.

The fact that he'd pulled her hair roughly twice, struck her in the face and thrown her to the floor proved that her husband was right in his assumption. Each time she'd been assaulted, she had done something Orton didn't like, directly preceding the event. Plus there was the little detail of her pregnancy. She wasn't sure how much more she could be thrown around before she miscarried. After all, she'd already been unknowingly playing with fire before she even knew she was pregnant. Understanding what her husband was trying to tell her, she nodded solemnly.

Orton put the knife to her throat again, but left enough space so that she could wrap the tape as needed. The tape began across Hunter's broad chest, wrapped around his biceps and finally stopped at the back of the chair.

How had their night and morning gone so very wrong? Stephanie wondered. Hell, even their escape plans had gone very far downhill. Hunter had been forced to tie himself to a chair and she was being forced to tape him to it.

After three or four go-arounds with the tape, Randy was satisfied. "Stop," he told her. He smiled down at Hunter and pulled Stephanie away from him. He held out his hand for the tape and Stephanie angrily shoved it into his palm.

"I just love how feisty you are," he commented.

"Go to hell," she said to him.

Hunter looked at her very seriously, conveying that she was going off track already.

Stephanie sighed and rolled her eyes upwards. "I'm sorry. That was rude. Thank you for the compliment," she muttered out.

"You're welcome," Randy said. He'd decided to dismiss her insult since she'd apologized so nicely. He pulled her with him until they reached the couch. Randy plopped down, dragging Stephanie onto his lap. He screwed his face up at the dust that arose from the cushions.

Randy adjusted his hold on her so that one arm was free. He brought the duct tape up to his mouth, using his teeth to lift the sticky material up and pull a line out. Before Stephanie could react, he swiftly pulled her arms behind her back, binding her wrists together. He pushed her so that her back was leaning against the couch, but he held a firm grip on her legs. They were long...and judging by how fast she could run, they were powerful. He wasn't taking any chances on her kicking him, so he wrapped a layer of tape around the shapely limbs and pulled them across his lap.

He wrapped an arm around her waist, making the knife rest somewhere between her her stomach and her chest.

If it wasn't for the presence of the knife, the look on Stephanie's face and her hands and legs being bound, they could have easily been mistaken for a couple that was cuddling.

Randy smiled brightly. "Let's have some Q&A, shall we?" He glanced over at Hunter and then at Stephanie. Noting that neither one of them seemed as enthused as he was, he declared, "I'll start."

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><p>Teehee! Lol. If I thought it would benefit the storytelling at all, I totally would've combined chapters 16-20. But then it would come out way too jumbled. Much more exciting to split it up so that you guys can catch the details easier. :-D<p>

Reviews = love! And potentially less evil ( not so much actually...but yeah lol)


	18. Q&A

This chapter and 19 are done. So why not? Weekend/sort of a 4th of July treat!

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><p>Randy stared across the living room at his competition. Not that there really was one in his head. To him, he outshined Hunter in every department possible. "Hunter...do you really think you deserve Stephanie?"<p>

"No," Hunter answered without hesitation. "I said it weeks ago and I'll say it again: I'm not a good person."

Randy nodded, pleased at the honesty. He happened to agree with Hunter. Nobody deserved Stephanie...except for him.

Stephanie wanted to jump in and defend Hunter. No, he wasn't a good person when it came to his persona inside the ring. But when it came down to his family, he was the best person she'd ever known. His answer was so automatic that it seemed genuine. And she knew that he'd been concerned she was leaving him for Orton. It saddened her to hear that he thought of himself as unworthy of her.

If anything, it was the other way around. She'd ultimately wrecked their first marriage with her immature behavior. And she nearly wrecked this one with her pregnancy hormones and perceived inability to control herself. Yet here Hunter was, literally putting his well-being at stake for her.

"Stephanie," Randy began. "Did you tell Hunter what happened between us in the locker room?"

"Yes," she replied. There wasn't a lot to tell. He'd cornered her and initially tried to seduce her. Then he'd tried to more or less force himself on her and she'd resisted, slapped him and ran to find Hunter. End of story.

Randy chuckled a little bit. "I see. So you told him we almost had sex that night?" He pressed.

"WHAT? We did not!" Stephanie replied heatedly, completely forgetting about the fact that she was supposed to be keeping her attitude and true feelings in check.

Randy tightened his arm around her waist and tapped her thigh with the knife. "Don't lie, Steph! It's just us here. Now tell the truth! You know you didn't tell him shit! Because you're a liar and a tease!"

Stephanie closed her eyes tightly and hissed out, "I did not almost have sex with you, Randy! And you know it!"

"Really?" He asked loudly. "Well, you didn't stop me when I did this to you," he commented and brushed his hand across her chest. "Or this," he said, trailing a finger up her thigh.

Stephanie's chest heaved with her anger. She opened her eyes and found Hunter's brown ones looking at her with concern. He subtly nodded his head, indicating that he knew the actual truth and that she should just go with whatever Randy was saying. Stephanie blew out a breath and said between her teeth, "Fine...you're right. I-I didn't tell him...about any of it."

Randy smiled in satisfaction. "Thought so," he commented. "Why didn't you give in that night?"

Stephanie rolled her eyes and decided to just tell a complete lie. "I like playing hard to get."

"Hmm..." he muttered and didn't seem very bothered by her potential game-playing in the romance arena. "Now...why did you keep our encounter to yourself?"

Stephanie looked at Hunter and swallowed hard. This answer was the God's honest truth when she really had been withholding the entirety of that information. "I didn't want to hurt Hunter."

"See Steph, that's your problem. You're too afraid to tell him how much you want me because you're too worried about his feelings. He's never going to get it through his head that you're not his unless you're honest and brutal."

Stephanie rolled her lips together to contain any sarcastic or insulting comments. She winced a little bit. She'd done that too hard and it aggravated her swollen and cut lip.

At any rate...she didn't fucking want Randy. And she was in fact Hunter's. Hell, even when they were divorced she was still his. Ultimately she was completely open and honest with him even though it hurt them both. It hurt him to hear that she'd be unintentionally having graphic fantasies over someone else. And it deeply hurt her that she'd hurt him.

Hunter had also been angry while she described what had been going on...at one point telling her that if she just "kept her fucking legs shut" all would be well. That comment had hurt her and when he saw it he had apologized. A lot of apologies had been given that afternoon. That day had been bumpy, stressful and painful but they came through it together and somehow stronger.

Randy cut into her thoughts by saying, "Tell him now."

"What?" She asked, completely puzzled.

"Tell him how you feel about me," he told her. "Tell him how much you think about me. How you're mesmerized and consumed by lust. How you dream about me touching you in places he never could! Tell him how much you want me to fuck you!"

_What. The. Damn. Hell! _Stephanie screamed inside of her head. Since she'd beat back the strange attraction, she only thought of Randy when she thought of the words crazy, psycho or obsessed. If she was mesmerized by anything, it was about how one person could possibly be so crude and insane. She lusted for nothing more than to have him far the hell away from her and Hunter. She didn't dream about him...anymore. And even when she had been dreaming, it's not like she thought of Hunter as incapable of giving her the same amount of physical pleasure and then some. In fact, her husband very much exceeded her expectations every single time they were together in that way.

Lastly, she had absolutely no intentions of screwing Randy. Not now, not ever. If she or Hunter didn't get free soon, she knew exactly where this all would lead. But it wouldn't be voluntary and thusly it had an entirely different terminology.

Randy's arm shifted and he raised the blade of the knife to her neck again.

Stephanie swallowed hard and glanced at Hunter for help. He looked...devastated, she decided. Honestly, this situation looked utterly hopeless. He was no doubt beating himself up for it. But it wasn't his fault. Circumstance and a misunderstanding had messed up the plan. And at the end of the day the fault of this situation rested almost entirely on Randy, with an assist from Legacy.

After a few moments of waiting for him to do or say something to indicate how he felt about this, he gave a slight nod and dropped his eyes to the ground.

_No_, she decided. She was not going to do this. There was only so much lying she was willing to do. And it's not like this was going to change the outcome of what Randy had planned anyway. What was the fucking point?

Randy huffed out a breath and pushed her off of him. Her side slumped against the couch as he stood up. "Fine," he said before making his way around the table and over to Hunter.

The first thing Randy did when he reached her husband, was look back at her for a moment. Then, he reared back and with a grunt of discomfort because of his torso, hit Hunter in the ribs using his fist and the handle-side of the knife.

Her eyes widened with her shock and Hunter tried and failed to muffle a groan.

Randy held out his hand and shook it, stretching out his fingers. He reared back again and this time he hit Hunter several times in the exact same spot in the exact same way.

It had to be very painful. "Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!" She yelled in succession, with tears in her eyes. "I-I love you! Okay?"

Randy stopped what he was doing and turned around to look at her. He placed a hand to his chest, clutching at it and breathing hard because of the physical exertion. His blue eyes were actually shocked. "What did you say?"

Wincing with the pain his ribs were in, Hunter also looked at her. His eyes were questioning.

Stephanie sucked in a huge breath. She still couldn't lie. But she _could _respond to Randy with answers that applied to Hunter. She could describe what she felt for her husband and just let Randy think it was about him. "I said...I love you," she told him again. "I-I think about you...all the time. Day and night. When I think about my future, you're there. By my side, loving me back."

"Go on," Randy told her.

Stephanie briefly cut her eyes over to Hunter. She was hoping that he was able to pick up that she was speaking about him and not about Randy. "I've never been more attracted to anyone. Just one look from you gives me butterflies. I think about you touching me...all the time. Everywhere. Anywhere."

Randy nodded and gestured for her to continue.

"I love you with all my heart. And I know things haven't been...easy. But I hope that what we have is worth it to you. Cause you're worth it to me."

Hunter stared at Stephanie and wasn't quite able to tell whether or not she was being serious. She sounded and looked awfully convincing. He was easily able to tell that she'd been lying in the car. But right now, he just didn't know. Maybe it was the combination of the pain and stress he was in and Stephanie finally honing her acting skills.

If she wasn't lying...he wasn't quite sure what he would do. He just couldn't imagine his life without her in it. He'd tried it once and it utterly sucked. He'd never been more miserable. It was interesting because before she'd first entered his life he was more than content to sleep around often. But she'd come along like a twister, sweeping him up into her.

Before he could even process why it was happening, he'd fallen for her. Hard. He still sucked at that marriage. But to be fair, they both messed up greatly on a regular basis.

Randy's ice blue eyes stared at her meaningfully. "And the sex?" He pressed.

"As soon as this is all over...I'll give myself to you whenever you want, as much as you want, however the hell you want, until I just physically can't anymore." She took a deep breath. There was more that she wanted to say. She wanted to mention their postponed anniversary trip. The need to just be off on some private beach alone with her husband. But she couldn't because it would give her away.

Quite frankly, she didn't like the look in Hunter's eyes. She was watching him mostly using her peripheral vision. And it looked like he was actually wondering whether or not any of this was directed at Randy. "This situation...quite frankly it fucking sucks. It's dangerous. I don't like it when you risk the safety of what belongs to me," she said pointedly. It was a very close paraphrase of what she said to Hunter when she found out he'd be having a handicap match against Rhodes and DiBiase the night that Orton had cornered her in the dressing room. She just hoped he remembered that. It was the only personal line she could give him, that didn't totally rat her out to Orton.

Hunter sent her a small smile, picking up on the clue. He wanted to tell her that he was going to rescue her because he loved her and she didn't deserve for any of this to be happening. That her promises of marathon lovemaking were not necessary to convince him to do all he could to help her. Besides, that's pretty much how she was with him anyway. Their relationship was very passionate and physical but also very loving. It helped that she was kind of a hornball...even without the pregnancy hormones. Put simply, he was never left feeling like he hadn't got enough emotional or physical love from her.

Randy nodded and dropped the knife to the floor. He began walking, seeming like he was almost in some kind of trance. "You belong to me, too." When he reached Stephanie, he dragged her forward by the legs.

"Ouch," she complained repeatedly as he pulled her from the couch. He somewhat cradled her head so she wouldn't hit it too hard when she landed on the floor. He continued to pull until she was lying just a few inches from Hunter's feet.

"What - what are you doing?" She asked, glancing around as Randy momentarily slithered away.

In a flash, he was back and he held the knife in one hand. He positioned himself so that his upper body rested on top of hers. His legs were on the side of her, on the floor.

Hunter tried to pull his arms free. "God damn you! Get the hell off her!" He didn't care if he was breaking their act, so to speak. Really, he didn't have one. Randy thought of him as the pitiful husband and Stephanie as the woman who was trapped in a relationship with a man she felt sorry for. He had no role to play, really. Except for keeping his mouth shut about the obvious fact that Stephanie wanted nothing to do with Orton.

Randy completely ignored Hunter, even as he thrashed against the chair and cursed at him loudly. This was exactly what he wanted. Hunter's tortured yelling was only making this ten times more satisfying.

Stephanie's legs were bound and so were her hands. There was nothing she could do when Randy pressed his lips against hers.

Stephanie groaned with her displeasure as his tongue practically jabbed at her bottom lip seeking entrance to her mouth. Stubbornly, she remained tight-lipped and struggled against the kiss. Screw trying to pretend she was cool with this. She was so grossed out and afraid that instinct had taken over.

Randy growled with impatience right before he purposely gave a hard, open handed slap to her thigh. Automatically, she opened her mouth to protest. Randy used the opportunity to gain entrance to her mouth.

Underneath him, she continued to try to wriggle free. Her distressed whimpers were audible. This was by far the worst kiss of her thirty-two years of life. _What in God's name is he doing? _She wondered inwardly.

The kiss was too wet for one thing. He was slobbering all over her. And in general, he had no idea how to move his mouth in a manner that was pleasurable. It was like he was trying to eat her mouth from the inside out. It was awful. And to top it off, his lips weren't nearly as soft as she'd once imagined. Nor did he taste as good as the faint traces of his cologne would suggest.

Even if she didn't think of him as an insane kidnapper, attempted murderer and attempted rapist, this would still suck as far as experiences went.

What the hell was wrong with this creature? At this point Hunter barely considered Randy human in anything except for physical form. What kind of person could just force himself on a woman this way, despite her obvious dislike for the contact? "I'm going to fucking KILL you!" Hunter seethed as he began trying to move his legs and escape the rope.

Finally – and to Stephanie, mercifully...Randy stopped what he was doing. He leaned into her neck, licking his lips in satisfaction as he inhaled her. "I love you," he breathed out.

Having no response or lie whatsoever for him, Stephanie simply blinked. She was still stunned...and mortified from the kiss. Her eyes tracked over to her husband, who looked more angry than she'd ever seen him before.

Her face crumpled with her pain, her eyes welling with tears. She mouthed an "I love you" and an "I'm sorry" to him for what had just happened. Hell, for what happened before this and for what was obviously going to happen. He knew all of it was being done against her will but she was still sorry that it was and would occur...and that he was being forced to watch it.

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><p>So...does anybody actually care what's going on over in Greenwich? Like how the family is reacting to the disappearance, etc? LOL...I could add a quick scene of that. Unless you guys think that would mess up the current suspenseful flow?<p>

The scene would need to be added to the next chapter otherwise it wouldn't quite fit in right. Let me know via review so I can post the next chapter today :-D. It's suspenseful but currently only 1300 words because I only need a few things to happen


	19. Look What You've Done

LOL you guys. Okay no family scene yet. Was able to add some more detail and bring this chapter to just under 1800 words.

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><p>Instead of responding to Stephanie, Hunter grunted and continued trying to break free. His strong legs were making the chair move around some on the carpet. But unless he magically cut himself free, it wouldn't be useful.<p>

"It's time," Randy told her as he pulled back. He hovered above her but wasn't directly on top of her anymore. He gave her the crazy stare again as he stroked her cheek with his thumb.

Hunter's eyes widened and the chair moved around with his restlessness. "Orton, don't you dare!" He yelled at him. "Don't you fucking touch her!"

Ignoring Hunter, Randy leaned back and sat on his knees.

Stephanie felt and heard the tape being ripped and cut from her legs. She forced down the bile in her throat and felt helpless when Orton put his entire body on top of hers.

It was utterly sickening the way he was grinding and rubbing himself up against her. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of hearing her beg. But she panicked as soon as his hand landed on her thigh and began to trail upwards. "No!" She screamed, her brown hair moving all around the carpet as she shook her head. "God, no! Please don't!"

"You don't want this?" Randy asked, looking genuinely shocked.

Maybe he was somewhat coming around. Her little misdirected love and sex speech seemed to have had an effect on him. Maybe she could talk him out of this, now. "Not here," she said. "Not like this."

Randy seemed to consider alternatives she hadn't verbally mentioned.

But she saw the shift in his eyes when he decided her wishes could go to hell. "You'll want it once I'm inside of you," he said confidently.

"You son of a bitch, you let her go!" Hunter yelled again. He was gonna kill him simply for all the shit he'd pulled thus far. For kidnapping her, for terrifying her, for hitting her. And mark his words, he'd find a way to kill him again after he was dead if the bastard fucking raped her.

_Oh God, _Stephanie thought suddenly. _Oh God, oh God! _This was seriously happening. She looked over to Hunter after a few moments and saw that he was still cursing and muttering, but mostly struggling against the things that were binding him. He was red in the face and his eyes were watering from the futile struggle. God, she loved him. She just prayed he'd still want her after she was defiled by this sicko right in front of him. Provided that both of them lived through this day and were allowed to leave together, that is.

Randy's hand went for the button of her jeans. He positioned his body weirdly as he tried to undo them.

Her leg. The weight on it had somewhat eased up because of his awkward positioning. Screwing up her face with anger, she wrenched her right leg from under him and kneed him in the balls.

Randy yelled out; partly from surprise, partly from pain. Had she seriously just done that to him? After all this trouble he went through to set this up for them? After she'd confessed her love for him and turned him on with her dirty talk?

The hit wasn't as hard as Stephanie would have liked. The angle was putting her at a striking disadvantage. Not wanting to waste more time, she did the exact same thing twice more. She swung her other leg from underneath him and twisted the long limbs to more or less push Randy more than halfway off of her.

With her hands still bound, she was left with no choice but to begin wriggling from underneath his torso while he was somewhat incapacitated. It was difficult to execute any of this. None of her pain had left. Her cheek was still swollen, her lip was still busted and her temple still throbbed. To top it off, her anxiety had reached its peak just moments ago. But she pressed on, moving all over the dirty carpet to shake him off.

Once she was free, she began scooting herself backwards.

If she could just get to that knife Randy made Hunter drop, she could cut her arms free. Then she could cut her husband free and he could gleefully get to beating Randy's ass. She'd cheer him on and maybe throw in a few shots just because the dick more than deserved it.

Stephanie looked backwards and saw that the front door was close. Only a couple more feet and she'd have what she needed. Her eyes stayed trained on her goal; she could see the silvery blade from here.

"Nooooooo!" Hunter yelled, his voice filled with agony and complete horror.

Stephanie turned and saw the knife coming down. She rolled out of the way at the last possible second.

Randy seethed with rage as the blade connected with only the carpet, rather than with Stephanie. He stayed on all fours as he lifted his hands and attempted to strike her again.

Stephanie bent her leg at the knee and kicked Randy dead-on in the face. The action made his head snap back and he fell over onto the carpet, the knife flying out of his hand.

Hunter could see that Randy wasn't going to stay down long. His nose was bleeding but definitely wasn't broken. So he wouldn't be out anywhere near long enough for her to get to the knife she was obviously going for. Panicking was getting him nowhere. He had to think. He had to focus and concentrate. It was just so fucking hard with what was going on. With what Randy was trying to do to his wife. First he'd tried to rape her. Now he was trying to fatally stab her. All the while he was tied up like a damn dog.

Truly the Viper, Randy had grabbed the knife and come after her so fast that Hunter hadn't had a real chance to warn her. If he hadn't yelled just in time, Randy would have stabbed her somewhere in the stomach area. It would have killed both her and the baby most likely.

Hunter glanced behind him, seeing that the wall that housed the long unused fireplace wasn't far at all. Not now that all of his thrashing had moved the chair. Randy had thought it was clever for Hunter to be tied to the thick seat of the chair, rather than to the thinner legs. He wasn't planning on something like this happening. He thought he'd have them both under total control.

Hit with the inkling of a good idea, he used his body weight to lean forward in the chair so that he was on the balls of his feet. He engaged his muscular legs as much as possible and sprang backwards a few inches. He steadied himself in the chair and did the same thing again.

_Just one last time...make it count, Hunter. Stephanie needs you. _With all the strength he could gather, he jumped backwards as fast and as hard as he could. He crashed into the wall chair-first. He heard pieces of the wood break right before he fell over in the chair.

Enough legs of the chair had broken so that the rope had loosened and slid down the seat. Getting his bearings together, Hunter kicked his legs free of the rope. Ignoring the pain in his ribs, he stood up. The back of the chair was still attached to his torso, bound by duct tape. He ran backwards into the wall, grunting out in pain when he connected with it. He used a hand to pull a shattered piece of wood from his back. With that gone, he began to quickly tear at the rest of it, as well as the tape.

Hunter saw that Randy was trying to push himself up, but he was still somewhat dazed by Stephanie's blunt kick to the face. _How about another? _Hunter thought deviously as he ran at the other man, his boot coming down against his skull.

Orton fell flat on the ground again.

Hunter looked at Stephanie, who was so surprised at his escape that she had stopped moving completely. "Your hands, Steph!"

She nodded and went back to her task as her husband mounted Orton. Her slender fingers finally clasped around the end of the knife. She carefully sliced through the tape, letting out a relieved sigh when her arms were free.

Stephanie got to her feet just as Orton managed to counter Hunter. Now he was mounted on her husband, trying to punch him in the face.

Hunter glanced back and saw that Stephanie had cut herself loose. He flinched when Orton's fist landed against his jaw, but otherwise ignored the pain. "Stephanie, go!" He yelled. He put up his forearms, deflecting the next hit Randy had intended for his face.

"Not without you," She told him fiercely. She came closer to the fight to try to give her husband the knife somehow. Hell, she was even willing to stab Orton if that's what it took.

A shocked yelp left her mouth when Randy's hand reached out and grabbed her leg. He pulled her until she lost her balance, losing her grip on the knife and falling to the floor, butt-first. His teeth were clenched and he seemed to care nothing about the trail of blood leaking from his nose. "You ungrateful little bitch!" He hissed as he continued grabbing at her pants leg while she tried to kick free and to safety.

"The baby, Steph!" Hunter yelled to her, as he pushed Randy hard.

Randy's fingers unclenched from around Stephanie's leg and she frantically scooted away towards the door.

Hunter used Randy's lack of balance to score a hard jab in his chest. "Get out of here, NOW!" He said to Stephanie.

Stephanie wasn't sure what to do. She wanted to help her husband. There were two knives floating around. She could be the difference maker. But at the same time, this fight was obviously way out of control. Her being here could prove to be a huge distraction for Hunter especially if Randy got a hold of her again. She thought back to when she'd turned to see Randy in front of her, preparing to drive the knife right into her. The blade would have gone through her stomach. Through her baby.

Though he was lying on the floor, stomach-first, Randy was still very conscious. And very angry. His arm reached for her again and he unknowingly made Stephanie's difficult decision for her.

With a terrified sob, she got up and darted right out of the front door.

Randy clenched his fist as Stephanie disappeared off the porch and into the dawn. "Motherfucker!" He screamed at Hunter, barely feeling it as the blonde-haired man nailed him in the chest again. "Look what you've done!"

With the sudden rush of adrenaline, Randy punched Hunter in the ribs.

Blocking out the noise from inside the house, Stephanie concentrated on running. On breathing. She knew how to get to the truck. She knew where the spare key was. She'd get help. Hunter was strong and had a wife and children as motivation. He could hold his own until she found assistance. He just had to.

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><p>Final chapter is written! There will be one to three in between this one and the end, though. On those, I haven't even started but I know what will happen.<p>

Review to get me cracking sooner, lol! BTW Nicole you were review number 100. Yay! Thanks for the great feedback, all!


	20. Because Of You

Well...you guys get a nice, long update since I couldn't figure out a place to split this up that made me happy. LOL. So there's a lot going on in this chapter! Enjoy, as this one will come to an end soon! :)

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><p>Stephanie thought that her fastest running speed had to have been when Randy was chasing her through the middle of nowhere. But she was wrong. <em>This <em>was definitely the fastest; she'd broken her own record.

Love was fueling her. Hunter was still in that house possibly fighting for his life. She didn't want to imagine what was currently going on in the house. Once she entertained the various scenarios, there'd be no way to stop her mind from projecting.

She was all too aware of her body; of her pattern of breathing, the clenching of her stomach and the racing of her heart. She was in excellent shape, so it definitely wasn't solely because of the physical effort. It was fear, pure and simple. It had her cocooned in its clutches and refused to let her go.

Glancing over her shoulder for just a moment, she yelped as her foot got caught in a pile of leaves and branches. Her body pitched forward, but instead of giving into it, she used her hands and planted them in the ground before she could fall completely. Without letting her feet cease moving forward, she pushed against the dirt, regaining her balance and continuing to sprint.

Inside the house, Hunter grabbed at his ribs and winced with the pain. At least one of them had to be broken. Broken ribs were always annoying because it affected almost your entire body. Your arm was naturally drawn to shield the spot and even your walk showed that you were trying not to further tweak the area.

Randy grabbed at Hunter's hair, holding it tightly in his grasp so that he could punch him in the cheek. Hunter fell back against the dirty carpeted floor, with most of his hair falling out of the ponytail he'd had it in.

Never had Hunter so detested any one person in his entire life. But never had any one person threatened his entire life this much. That's exactly what his family was to him. And he wouldn't have his very own family if it weren't for Stephanie. The things Randy had done and tried to do to her were unforgiveable. There was no amount of apologizing that could redeem Orton. There was no amount of punishment that Hunter felt was appropriate. It didn't matter that he and Stephanie had worked together and finally gotten her away to safety. This one was all about intent. It was about what Randy tried to do.

It was with these thoughts that Hunter practically growled as a result of his anger. He drew his fist back and led the way to Randy's jaw using his knuckles, as hard as he possibly could.

"AHH!" Randy halfway yelled, losing his advantageous position and falling to the floor.

Hunter stood up and started stomping Randy in the chest. Randy put up his hands, trying to deflect the hits. Instead of backing off, Hunter brought his boot down against Randy's forearm.

"Shit!" Randy yelled and cradled the limb.

Ignoring the man below him, Hunter started kicking at his stomach. Randy flinched weakly with each hit. He wasn't sure of the extent of the damage to his arm. Or his jaw for that matter since it hurt like hell.

His rage growing with each successful hit and howl of pain, Hunter reached down and grabbed Randy by the collar of his t-shirt. He flung him a good five feet, watching as he crashed into the wall near the fireplace and slid to the floor. Fire pokers toppled over and fell all around him. Hunter quickly walked over and picked up the sharpest looking one. He measured the distance to Randy's temple and swung at it like it was a golf ball.

"STOP, AHHH!" Randy screamed right as Hunter prepared to hit him again.

"Stop?" Hunter snarled. "Did you stop when my wife begged you? HUH?" He questioned, swinging at the other man's head. He smirked cruelly when he saw that he'd successfully busted Randy open.

Randy groaned loudly and put up his uninjured arm to try to protect his face.

Hunter raised the poker high above his head and brought it down against Orton's arm, hoping like hell he'd broken it because of the noise the impact made. For good measure he raised the weapon and made sure he got both arms this time.

"Damn it!" He groaned out, backing away and stopping the assault to momentarily grab his ribs. He knew he couldn't waste much time. Wrestlers were literally trained to withstand tremendous amounts of physical punishment. To continue competing when other people would have given up, assuming death lay around the corner. They were all conditioned to bounce back and continue to fight. To prove they were the toughest of the tough.

And that was for competition. It was for fame, glory and title matches.

Stephanie meant more to him than all of those things combined, multiplied to infinity. And knowing Randy's conditioning and lunacy, he knew he couldn't afford to let up for more than a few seconds. Even that was too long; he wanted Randy to be in constant torment at his hands. It was what the bastard deserved.

He grabbed the band that was resting towards the middle of his ponytail, yanking it the rest of the way off.

Randy was stirring and had made it about halfway back to his feet. Hunter ran at him, bending at the knees a little and coming back up with a strong uppercut to Randy's chin. The man's feet lifted from the ground the slightest bit and his body bounced off of the gate of the fireplace.

Not wasting any time, Hunter rushed at him, throwing a right hook into his face. He followed the hit up with a series of body shots. He hardly felt the pain in his own body as he did so.

In the time she'd been running, Stephanie saw a couple of cars flittering by. At that point, she'd been too far away to flag them down. She wasn't counting on another one to go by. She was going to take matters more into her own hands where it concerned getting help rather than sitting on the side of the road waiting.

Ignoring the bruises, aches and pains of her body and emotional state, she continued to sprint. She hadn't heard any footsteps behind her, so she knew she was still totally alone.

Stephanie ran around the front of the car, opening the door on the driver's side. She popped the trunk and briefly glanced towards the house as she jogged to the back of the SUV.

Immediately spotting her purple tote bag, she shoved her hand in, fishing around for her cell phone. She found the charger first and set it aside on the floor. After a few seconds more of searching, she got frustrated with the task and simply dumped the contents of the bag on the floor. She grabbed her phone from the pile, picked up the charger and slammed the trunk shut. She hopped into the driver's seat and locked the doors before engaging her phone's screen.

Her lip twisted when the display stayed completely black even after she held down the power button.

Opening the center console, she spotted what she needed instantly. She grabbed the spare key and engaged the powerful truck's engine. She hooked up her phone to the vehicle's charging station and waited for just a few moments. She held down the power button on her phone, desperately hoping that the damn thing would turn on.

"Come on!" She said to the phone. She hated it when this happened…when the phone was so dead that it wouldn't even turn on while connected to a charger until it got a certain amount of juice. It was horrible for emergencies such as this. She didn't have time for this shit.

Looking down the road, she didn't see any cars coming. She glanced in the rearview mirror and saw the same. She wasn't about to leave Hunter's potential fate in someone else's hands.

Stephanie nodded once to reassure herself that this was the right thing to do. She took a deep breath and pulled her seat belt on as she put the car in drive and sped towards the abandoned house.

Before Randy could stop him, Hunter ran at him full speed and tackled him into the wall by his abdomen using his broad shoulder. Hunter backed up a tad and threw a right hook to Randy's jaw.

Randy's eyes rolled in the back of his head and he stumbled but didn't drop to the ground. Hunter grumbled obscenities at random before jabbing Randy in the chest and finally giving him an uppercut. Randy fell backwards, crashing into the fireplace gate before falling over it and landing in the hearth.

Hunter glanced around, looking for either of the knives. He walked the few feet over to where one had flown into the dining room. He held it in his left hand and stalked back over to Randy, who was lying face down with his arms sprawled out beside him. He grabbed the fireplace gate in his hands, pulling it away and throwing it a couple feet from them. He bent down and grabbed Randy by the collar.

With his face still facing downward, Randy lifted one corner of his mouth in a smile. Hunter thought he was so fucking smart. Thought that anything he did here meant a damn. As long as having Stephanie evaded him, he would fight. He would battle to have her until any and everything that stood in his way was removed. That desire was fueling him. Hunter was a fool if he thought Stephanie had gone far away. She was a McMahon by blood so she was naturally stubborn and intent on having her hands in everything that even remotely concerned her. She had to be close. And he would damn well find her. She couldn't have gotten far. Hunter mentioned something about a baby earlier. She was pregnant, it seemed. That meant that she was even physically weaker than she normally would be.

When Hunter lifted him halfway, Randy stood up fully and shoved two handfuls of ashes directly into Hunter's eyes. "Shit!" Hunter yelled as he released his grip on Randy and on the knife. He bent a little bit, rubbing at his eyes. But it was hurting pretty badly. He used one big hand to try to rub the crap out. With his other hand he pointed to where he thought Randy was. "I'm gonna fucking kill you, Orton!" He seethed through clenched teeth.

Randy stayed put, smirking at the fact that Hunter was pointing at the couch instead of at him. "Wrong direction, Hunter!"

Hunter turned around and grabbed at the area where he'd heard the bastard's voice. He tried to open his eyes to a squint but still couldn't make out Randy's form. "Come closer and say that you piece of shit!" He challenged after his hand came up empty.

Randy had moved behind Hunter. He tapped him on the shoulder mockingly. Hunter screwed up his face in anger and quickly spun around, leading with his elbow. Randy ducked the hit and sent a left cross jab to Hunter's ribs.

Hunter groaned loudly and doubled over. Randy grabbed Hunter's chin and used his other hand to send him a hook in the cheek. Hunter fell and Randy moved quickly, securing Hunter by planting a foot on his ribcage.

Randy delighted in Hunter's pained groans. He took even more pleasure out of the empty threats Hunter had made and was no doubt continuing to make in his mind. Right now Hunter couldn't even talk because of the pain he was in. Keeping his foot in place, Randy leaned down to pick up the knife. "Well, what do we have here?" He asked, looking it over. "Before I gut you like a fucking fish…Hunter I just want you to know something. I want your last thoughts to be of me and Stephanie. Physically joined…together at last," he sighed. "What happened earlier was nothing, Hunter. Just a preview. I intend to do so much more with her. Once I've broken her in I'm gonna have her again. And again and again. I'm gonna turn her into my little fuck toy. I will find her, Hunter. She'll be mine and there won't be a god damn thing you can do about it cause you'll be dead!"

In response, Hunter could only grit his teeth through the massive amount of pain his ribs were in. None of that was going to happen. He wouldn't let it. He was already extremely motivated to tear Randy Orton apart. His little speech just made his motivation increase tenfold; something he had no idea was possible.

He still couldn't see anything except for a shadow. But the lack of vision did make him concentrate on his other senses better. So he heard the faint sound of tires crunching twigs, leaves, branches and grass. He could tell it was getting closer. Damn Stephanie…of course she wouldn't leave like he'd told her to. He'd been hoping that for once she put her own safety first. He'd hoped that but he'd figured she'd find some way around the order. At any rate, her timing was perfect.

Using all of his strength, Hunter grabbed Randy's foot. He pushed Randy back so that he'd stumble. Meanwhile, he rolled away.

Stephanie gripped the steering wheel tightly as the truck rolled up the steps to the house. Through the front door she could see Hunter on the floor to the left. Randy was standing to the right so she angled the vehicle in that direction. Stephanie let go of the wheel and instead protected her midsection.

It sounded like the entire earth was blowing up as the Navigator crashed through the front of the house. The airbag popped out, Stephanie's body was thrown forward against it and the entire vehicle shook as pieces of the house crashed all over the SUV.

Stephanie groaned and moved her arms, so she could rub at her collarbone. That hurt and was definitely going to be sore tomorrow. But she'd rather have a bruised torso than a miscarriage.

Blue eyes tracked over to the left and she saw Hunter sitting upright on the floor. His face looked more beat up than it did when she last saw him. But he was fine. Her eyes switched to the right and she saw Randy trapped beneath a piece of the roof that had fallen on him. It looked far too heavy for him to move. He was done with.

Stephanie waited until the debris and wood cleared before she rolled down her window. "Hunter?" She asked.

Hunter coughed and said, "Over here."

"Get in," she said, squinting through the splinters that were still falling in the living room like rain.

"Throw me a water," Hunter said.

Stephanie furrowed her brow in puzzlement. She wanted to get out of here. Like yesterday. But Hunter must have a good reason for the request. She looked through the bag closest to her and grabbed a bottle. She tossed it out of the window, in Hunter's direction.

The bottle hit the corner of his boot and he squinted and felt around for it. He unscrewed the cap and forced his left eye open. He tilted his head back and flushed it out with water. Then he did the same thing to the other eye. He wiped his face on his t-shirt when he was done, blinking rapidly to try to clear up the remainder of his vision.

A minute or two had passed and Stephanie was getting antsy. "Baby come on," she whined.

"I'm not done yet," he replied calmly as he stood up.

Stephanie's eyes widened at the angry expression that he wore as he walked in Randy's direction. And his tone had been ice cold. Like he wasn't even talking to his wife. Neither of these things was actually directed at her. But it was still scary. Randy was down and out. Hunter had surely done some damage while she was gone, plus a piece of the house was now crushing him. He was no longer a threat. All they had to do was get ahold of the cops and have them lock the son of a bitch away for good. Stephanie knew that Hunter knew that. But by his purposeful walk she also knew he didn't find that to be good enough.

"Hunter!" She called out to him and was unsurprised when he didn't react at all.

There was nothing she could do but watch when Hunter actually took a seat on top of the piece of roof. He began punching Randy in the face while she shook her head in disapproval. Legally, this was no longer self-defense. Of course, she'd gladly lie for her husband to make it seem like it was if it came down to it. It's not that she wanted Randy alive. She actually thought the world was better off without people like him roaming about.

If Randy got murdered, she wouldn't be sad about it. She'd jump for joy that there was one less psycho out there. But she didn't want Hunter to be that murderer. She didn't want him to be arrested and have their lives torn apart and picked over while they fought for his freedom. Hunter didn't deserve that; he was just trying to protect her and their baby. But if he achieved his goal in this way, there was no other outcome than a legal battle.

"Get in the car, Hunter! Let's go!" Again, she watched as he ignored her and continued to whale on Randy. She pressed her lips together and tried to think of something that would be more effective. She reached over and picked up her phone, holding down the power button. The startup screen came to life and she put the device in a cup holder until it finished booting up.

Stephanie flinched after a particularly vicious hit her husband gave Randy. She placed a hand to her stomach and squeezed in an attempt to stop the ache she felt. Now was not the time to get sick. Life and death; prison and freedom situations were occurring.

With her unoccupied hand, she honked the horn a few times. Again, Hunter had no reaction for her. He just kept beating Orton as he growled out curse words, references to what happened today and death threats. Randy was groaning…but rather weakly. Distantly, she wondered how much the piece of roof weighed. Her husband alone weighed over two hundred and fifty pounds. Add that to the roof piece and it had to feel like being crushed by a truck. Against her own will, she smirked and thought that's exactly what Orton deserved for the horrible things he'd done and had planned to do.

Suddenly, she heard a different sound. Like someone was choking. She stared harder and it was unmistakable. Hunter's hands were literally pressed against Orton's throat. Hunter was also repeatedly slamming Randy's head into the floor.

Hunter was really going to kill him. She couldn't allow it. She wasn't about to lose her husband and her children's father to the justice system. He was a good man who was just doing what was right by his family. But the law wouldn't see it that way. She'd heard of similar cases where the victim in the situation ended up doing jail time.

Not wasting another second, she opened the door and hopped out. Since Randy was trapped, there was no danger to worry about. It's not like Hunter would hurt her, no matter how angry he was. She ran over to them and placed a hand on Hunter's shoulder. She squeezed to get his attention.

"Hunter, stop!"

"No!"

"Baby, please?" She pleaded. "Please don't kill him. Hunter the police will arrest you. You'll go to jail!"

"I don't give a shit. He doesn't get away with what he did to you, Steph!"

"Well _I _give a shit if you go to jail! And so do our kids. Hunter, I'm pregnant. Are you really going to let me go through this pregnancy and have to raise three kids alone?"

When Hunter remained silent, she knew she was at least somewhat getting to him with her words. But the fact that he was still strangling and manhandling Randy meant she hadn't convinced him enough yet.

Stephanie shook him as hard as she could. If nothing else it would slow down Randy's dying process as Hunter's hold wavered. "Hunter I'm going to be fine. Because of you. You stopped him from stabbing me and from…raping me."

Hunter flinched at the use of that word from her lips. He didn't want to think about any of the consequences. All he wanted was to kill Randy. He'd finally stopped making noise but that just meant the asshole was unconscious. "He deserves death," was his simple reply.

Stephanie tilted her head from left to right in agreement, even though Hunter had his back to her. "I'm with you there. But please…please don't be the one to make that happen. His ass is going to prison. Let someone fuck him up in there. Those men have nothing to lose."

A sharp pain cut through her and she winced and grabbed at her stomach with both hands, backing away a few paces. "Damn it," she groaned out as she doubled over.

Hunter wasn't so far gone that he wasn't attuned to her distress. "Steph? What is it?" He asked without turning around.

When she answered, he could hear her strained breathing. "Hospital. I – I need to go to the hospital."

Without completely letting go of Randy's neck, he looked over his shoulder at Stephanie. She looked to be in great discomfort. He saw her stance waver and he immediately jumped up and rushed over to catch her before she fell over. "Baby? What's wrong?" He asked as he wrapped an arm around her waist to support the majority of her body weight. He led her towards the scratched up, dented Navigator that she hadn't bothered to shut off.

Stephanie looked over at him with tears in her eyes.

Hunter dropped his gaze sadly, in preparation for her to utter what the look on her face was already communicating to him.

"Something's wrong with the baby," she replied softly.

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><p>Steph = badass for driving the Nav through the house, don't ya think? lol. But will the baby make it? What's the extent of Hunter's injuries? Is Randy dead? Does anyone in Greenwich know they're gone? If so, are the kids aware andor freaking out?

Let me know what you think and you'll find out in the next installment :-D. Sidebar I totally got myself a new laptop. Yay for MS word and not having to use the house desktop!


	21. That's How Strong My Love Is

Thanks for the speedy reviews! I managed to write this out this afternoon! Enjoy! We've only got the epilogue left! Credit to Alicia Keys for the song...ignore the fact that it wasn't out in 2009 lol. In return for the triple posting I'd LOVE it if you guys would drop what you think of each chapter rather than lumping all the reviews together, LOL.

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><p>A thorough examination revealed that Stephanie was twelve weeks pregnant. The clenching and tightening she had been experiencing in her abdomen over the last few hours were actually contractions and her cervix had dilated.<p>

At this news, both Stephanie and Hunter's jaws dropped in astonishment.

"Contractions? Dilation?" Hunter asked. "How the hell can she go into labor after twelve weeks of pregnancy?"

Stephanie let out an incredulous, nervous laugh. "You're kidding, right? I can't have this baby this soon. I-it-it's not possible; it wouldn't survive."

The doctor was a rather petite woman. Dr. Lillian Navarro was a Filipino woman that stood at around five foot five. Though she wasn't tall, she had extremely long and lean legs. Her jet black, wavy hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her dark eyes were covered by stylish eyeglasses.

Hunter and Stephanie fell silent as they listened to her explanation of what was going on.

Stephanie's was so stressed out that her body had secreted large amounts of corticotrophin-releasing hormone. CRH was known as the master stress hormone because it triggered the release of almost all other stress hormones and sent the brain and body into crisis mode.

None of this was her fault, of course. Recently she'd been threatened, hit, stalked, kidnapped, held captive, chased, beaten, violated and nearly raped. To top it off she had been fearful for her husband's life. Something would probably be wrong with her mental functioning if she _wasn't _stressed out.

But when a woman was pregnant, the release of CRH could cause a miscarriage.

So, they'd have to perform a cervical cerclage. They'd stitch her cervix closed and remove the suture towards the end of her pregnancy when the risk of miscarriage was slim. They'd keep her overnight for observation to make sure she didn't go into premature labor or develop an infection. They'd also take care of her wounds: the shallow cuts on her neck, busted lip, bruised cheek and bruised and cut temple.

She was going to be on bed rest for two weeks and had been instructed to do all she could to keep her stress levels low. Without hesitation, she'd instantly informed her husband she'd be leaving her job. At least until after the baby was born. The ever-changing environment and temperamental and sometimes violent employees would certainly upset her.

Stephanie had requested…more like demanded that Hunter go get himself checked out while she was having the procedure done. He didn't want to cause her any extra anxiety so that's exactly what he did.

It could have been worse. He hadn't suffered a concussion so they just bandaged his forehead. His cheekbone was bruised but not fractured or broken. His 7th rib was broken. But thank God it hadn't punctured a lung or any major blood vessels or organs. The 10th rib was moderately fractured, but not broken.

They weren't going to use compression wraps to immobilize the area. It would prevent him from taking deep breaths and increase the risk of lung collapse and pneumonia. He just had to take things easy, take pain medication and he'd be healed after around six weeks.

Right after he'd left the hospital room, the cops were waiting for him. Normally he hated all interactions with law enforcement. But these guys were cool. The partners were a man and woman around his and Stephanie's age. They had updated him on the status of the upcoming case and given him the information they had so far. They hadn't pressed him for details of what happened in the house because they were aware of the delicate and ongoing nature of the situation. They'd just asked the basics and intended to use that to arrest Randy when and if he was stable enough.

Much to his annoyance, Orton wasn't dead. His windpipe had been crushed. Medically it was known as a collapsed trachea. He'd also bruised his larynx moderately. The injuries were critical, potentially deadly and had landed him in the intensive care unit.

Stephanie's kick to Randy's face had broken the cartilage over the bridge of the man's nose. Hunter had broken Randy's radius on his right arm. If your arms were down at your sides, the radius was the bone facing away from the body. On the left arm, Hunter had bruised the ulna. That was the bone that was closest to your body if your arms were hanging down. Hunter's heavy fists had also given Randy a mandibular fracture – the largest and main bone of the lower portion of the face. Hunter had successfully broken a rib and it had created a small hole in Randy's lungs. He'd certainly delivered many potentially fatal injuries…and would have no doubt succeeded in killing the other man if Stephanie hadn't needed him so urgently.

He wasn't sure if that was good or bad, though. He definitely wanted Randy dead. Hell, even Stephanie wanted him dead. But now that he was out of the situation, Stephanie and the baby were fine and Randy was critically injured and going to jail when and if he got stabilized, his head was clearing. And he realized Stephanie was right. Going to jail for ending the life of such a piece of shit was like allowing said piece of shit to win at taking Stephanie from him.

As for Randy's accomplices, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase...they were currently down at the station in Wesson, Mississippi. That was the name of the little town where the Chevron station had been. It turned out that they were the ones who called the police. The Copiah county police department had interrogated them and determined that Orton was probably heading to the temporarily vacant DiBiase house. So they'd contacted the Hinds County police department and alerted them. Had Randy actually made it over there with Hunter and Stephanie, there would have been 3 squad cars waiting for him. A patrol car had also been sent to his Missouri residence to do surveillance and to his estranged wife's house to shadow her, just in case.

Both Rhodes and DiBiase were charged with two counts of unlawful restraint for tying up Hunter and Stephanie and throwing them in a truck. That was a third degree felony because what they did exposed the couple to substantial risk of bodily injury due to Randy Orton's level of violence. They were charged with two counts of kidnapping, a third degree felony because they knowingly abducted Hunter and Stephanie even though it wasn't entirely pre-planned on their parts. Each third degree felony carried a maximum sentence of ten years and a minimum of two years, per count.

Both men were charged with two counts of aggravated assault. That was a second degree felony carrying a minimum sentence of two years and a maximum of twenty. Police weren't expecting that charge to stick because neither Rhodes or DiBiase actually used a weapon, but the weapon was present. That charge was intended to scare them into a plea deal to avoid trial.

After ending a flurry of concerned phone calls to their family from the nurse's station, Hunter wandered back to his wife's room. He opened the door carefully, seeing that her eyes were closed. He tiptoed over and sat down in the chair beside her bed, grabbing her hand in his.

Stephanie squeezed his hand once. "Mmm," she sighed, her eyes fluttering open. "Hi," she said with a lazy smile.

"Hey baby. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

Stephanie let go of his hand and touched his cheek, running her hand all the way down until she reached his shoulders. She played with the curly blond hair that was resting against them. "I wasn't completely asleep," she said.

Hunter nodded and his hazel eyes were soft with concern for her. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. The contractions have eased off a lot."

"It's because you're more relaxed now."

"Yeah," she said simply. "I want it to stay that way…" she said softly and pressed her lips together thoughtfully. She was starting to feel more anxious already. "But I need to know how you are...and what all is going on."

Hunter knew she was referring to his injuries as well as the state of Orton. He gave her the same summary that had been given to him.

Stephanie nodded and Hunter noticed the tension on her face ease. She was pleased with what she heard. Or at least wasn't bothered enough to start panicking. "Both of our families are on their way, too."

Paul and Patricia had been scrambling about in the house at seven in the morning, trying to get themselves and the two children ready. They were supposed to pick up Hunter and Stephanie from the airport at nine. Patricia had been downstairs getting breakfast and coffee made when the news report of their kidnapping came on. She'd dropped the bowl that was in her hand at the time and screamed out for Paul.

His father had come running, with Morgan and Devin unknowingly right behind him. He'd tried to console Patricia and gain more information but was having a difficult time with that and with not freaking out. The next thing they knew, both Morgan and Devin had started crying hysterically for their mother and father.

Both children were relatively incapable of being calmed down. They just wanted Hunter and Stephanie and no one else would do. Not even Vince, Linda, Lynn or Shane, whom Paul and Patricia had called to see if they had any additional information.

It turned out that Paul and Patricia were the first to know as everyone else had been getting a late start to the day. They'd each called Hunter and/or Stephanie's cell phones the night before to congratulate Hunter on the win. They'd thought it strange but not surprising that neither of them answered. They assumed the couple wanted to celebrate alone or something.

Stephanie's family was at the airport when Hunter got a hold of them. Vince had been heading to the arena in Texas to see how the hell something like this had happened. Shane, Linda and Marissa were heading to the police department in Mississippi that had broke the news of the disappearance. Now they were all heading to the hospital.

Hunter's family had barely been leaving the house when he called them. They were now on their way, with the kids in tow. He'd talked to his little people, reassuring them that the "bad man" was gone for good and that Mommy and Daddy were fine, loved them very much and couldn't wait to see them.

Stephanie nodded and smiled genuinely, but fidgeted with the sheet that was covering her.

"What is it?" He asked, tracing her bottom lip with his thumb.

"I know this is…kind of cowardly," she laughed uneasily. "But can you talk to my Dad about me leaving work?"

"Sure," he answered without hesitation.

Sensing the questions he hadn't voiced, she decided to elaborate. "I know he loves me and his grandkids. But you know how he can get about business. I don't want to potentially stress myself out answering his hundred questions, rejecting his alternatives and possibly arguing with him."

"I understand. I'll take care of it."

"Thank you," she said, touching the back of his neck. She pulled gently, not wanting to exert too much physicality.

Knowing what she wanted, Hunter leaned over carefully so as not to mess with his own injuries. He pressed his lips against his wife's, their mouths moving together lovingly.

Hunter pulled back and resumed his previous position. He sent her a megawatt smile. God, he loved her. She was beautiful and amazing, very sweet but strong and kind but not a pushover. The best wife and mother for his kids he ever could have hoped for.

Stephanie seemed happy…but he also read sadness in her eyes. She looked to be on the verge of tears, but not the joyous kind. "I love you more than anything Hunter. More than I thought I'd ever be capable of."

"I know," he reassured her. "I love you, too."

Stephanie bit down on her lip and he stayed silent, knowing that she had more to say. "I saw the look on your face earlier. When I was lying and pretending that I loved Randy."

Instead of replying, Hunter played with her wedding and engagement rings and didn't look at her. There was nothing to say since she hadn't asked anything yet.

"I could see you questioning whether or not I was speaking the truth. You had no idea I was actually voicing how I felt about you until I gave that clue at the end. Hunter, you…" she trailed off and wiped at her eyes. "You said you didn't think you deserved me. Why?" She asked.

He looked back at her and saw the confusion and hurt written all over her face. "Steph," he sighed and rubbed at his temple. "Because of the distant, weird way you were behaving because of…the crazy attraction thing…I thought you wanted to leave me for him. I didn't know what was actually going on with you until you explained. We fought about it, sorted it out and beat it back. But when you started speaking that way at the house it's like it all came rushing back. Because you spoke so damn naturally and convincingly. You seriously can't lie worth a damn," he chuckled slightly. "But I could tell you weren't lying then so I just wondered if the last couple of weeks had been an act. Or if you'd just changed your mind, realized your true feelings or something."

Stephanie shook her head, her brown hair moving against her shoulders and the pillows. "I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't be. I know you just did that to try to keep him from hitting me more. And that what you said applied to me and not him."

Again, she shook her head. "I'm sorry that everything that happened recently made you have even the tiniest bit of doubt about my feelings for you. Or made you think you weren't worthy of me."

Hunter took in a deep breath and tried not to wince. The doctors told him that he had to breathe deeply and cough at least once an hour so that he didn't develop any lung issues. "Stephanie…when we were divorced I imagined you'd find yourself some executive. Some stable, kind of nerdy preppy guy who'd worship the ground you walked on. Even though I knew I still loved and wanted you…I imagined you very happy with that. You'd have a steady, safe life. And I could live with that, if that's what you found. I never imagined you'd come back to me; to the guy who behaved like a jerk half the time, ignored you over my career and couldn't give you any stability because of traveling and stuff. I remember when we talked about everything…how you said you faked the pregnancy because you wanted to know if I still loved you. I felt so bad that the way I'd treated you had conveyed that I didn't love you. I vowed to myself that you'd never have to wonder that again. Most guys wouldn't have needed a second shot with you. They'd have done things right the first time around."

One side of her mouth lifted in a smile. "I say this with love, baby. But the first half of that was craziness. You know…most women have to choose. They can either pick the good looking, charming, athletic guy and usually put up with cheating and game-playing or they can pick the nerdy or unattractive guy who will make it clear that he loves them and wants to be a family man. I didn't have to choose. You love me and put our family first and you're a sexy beast," she grinned. "There is absolutely nothing I need or want that you can't or won't give me. We have stability, but we also have passion and adventure. We both made some mistakes and bad decisions along the way…especially during our first marriage. But we've matured and grown. We got it so damn right this time around. I don't know your thoughts, but you're a perfect match for me in every way imaginable. If you love me even half as much as I love you, I'm a lucky woman."

Hunter gave her a small smirk. "Please," he said sarcastically. "No one loves anyone as much as I love you."

"I beg to differ with that," Stephanie said playfully in reference to how much she loved him.

Hunter chuckled lowly and intertwined his fingers with hers. "You compliment and fit me perfectly." He held their joined hands up for her to see. "Look," he said. "It's like yin and yang."

Stephanie let out a laugh, her eyes sparkling with her affection for him. "Told you that you had it all. I think of you as a cool, tough guy but that was one of the dorkiest, sweetest lines you've ever said to me."

Hunter shrugged and smiled nonchalantly. He kissed her hand and watched as she blushed shyly, as she often did around him.

She took a deep breath and hummed a familiar tune before she started singing to him.

Some people they call me crazy  
>For falling in love with you<br>They can take me and lock me away baby  
>'cause there's nothing those bars can do<p>

I'll be the rising moon after setting sun  
>Just to let you know you'll always have someone<br>I'll be the clearest day when the rain is done  
>So you'll always know<p>

Through the shake of an earthquake  
>I will never fall<br>That's how strong my love is  
>Like a ship through the storm<br>We can risk it all  
>That's how strong my love is<p>

Contrary to popular belief, his wife wasn't an awful, tone-deaf singer. Her range was that of an alto and she actually always sounded good and on key. Still, she rarely sang because she was afraid of criticism. The first time he'd heard her, was when Morgan was a few days old. Instead of waking him up, she'd got up to see about their daughter when her cries came over the baby monitor.

I used to feel kinda lonely  
>Cause the world it can be so fake<br>All that matters I'm telling you  
>Is you and me only<br>And the fortress from love we'd make

I'll be the water you need in the desert land  
>Just to let you know you'll always have my hand<br>I'll be the woman you need to be a better man  
>So you'll always know<p>

Through the shake of an earthquake  
>I will never fall<br>That's how strong my love is  
>Like a ship through the storm<br>We can risk it all  
>That's how strong my love is<p>

He'd become slightly more alert when the baby had cried, but Stephanie beat him at waking up fully and tending to the infant. But when he heard her voice float through the monitor, singing Morgan a tune she'd clearly made up, that forced him to be fully awake. He'd thrown off the covers and wandered down the hallway to see Stephanie sitting in the rocking chair, holding their newborn and singing to her. It was working like a charm and had made Morgan's cries turn into what sounded like content sighs.

Oh, can't nothing break us down  
>Oh, 'cause we are heaven bound<br>Like the mountain standing tall...  
>Immovable; we're here to stay<br>Oh, can't nothing get in the way

Through the shake of an earthquake  
>I will never fall (I will never fall)<br>That's how strong my love is (that's how strong my love is)  
>Like a ship through the storm<br>We can risk it all (we can risk it all)  
>That's how strong my love is (that love is)<p>

After Stephanie fell silent and was just looking at the baby full of adoration, Hunter cleared his throat to let her know he was there. Her eyes had widened when she looked up and her trademark blush stained her cheeks. He'd quickly walked over to kiss her and tell her that she sounded beautiful and there was no reason for her to hide her gift.

Through the deepest waters  
>I won't let you drown (I won't let you drown Ohh!)<br>That's how strong my love is (Oh that's how strong my love, my love, my love)  
>Cause we're the moon in the sky<br>That will never come down (never come down)  
>That's how strong my love is (Oh that's how strong my love is)<p>

Stephanie reached up and cupped his cheek in her hand. "That's how strong my love is…that's how strong my love is," she finished softly as Hunter smiled at her tenderly and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

After everything they'd been through together, there was nothing that would successfully split them up or cause them to fall out of love with each other. In just a few months they'd welcome another child into the world and become a family of five. They both had the feeling that everything would turn out just fine.

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><p>I know you guys must be wondering why this isn't the final chapter and what more I can possibly do with this story. Take your guesses and find out in the next and last chapter :-D<p> 


	22. Epilogue

Because today is the 4th of July...and this has been done for weeks I figured why the hell not! Hope you've all enjoyed this fic. I can't thank you guys enough for the wonderful reviews and PMs! The support means a lot - I know some of it was hard to read, because of its disturbing nature. This chapter is half fluff, half creepy. I figured it was the best way to end this since that was the tone of most of the story :-D

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><p>One year later; April 2010<p>

Hunter frowned in confusion as something collided with his ankle. He looked down to find that the baby had crawled right into him.

Tobias Conner Helmsley went right over his father's foot, continuing in the direction of his play pen. His first name meant "God is good." Stephanie and Hunter both felt like the baby's name should pay some sort of tribute to how fortunate they'd been that he made it into this world at all. Not only that, but he was a healthy baby with no developmental problems whatsoever despite the fact he was born weighing a bit less than he should have. The kid had quickly caught up to his age group. His middle name was Gaelic, paying tribute to Stephanie's Irish lineage.

While doing their research they discovered that Devin's first name and Morgan's middle name Cassidy were also Gaelic. It was totally a fluke, albeit a really cool one in their opinion.

Toby was six months old and was deemed by Hunter and Stephanie to be "crazy strong." At four months old he was sitting up unassisted. At five months old he would sit down on the floor and use his hands to drag himself forward. It was a prelude to crawling. Now he was a pro at it and almost always on the move.

His hair was the same shade of brown as his mother's, but curly like his father's. His eyes and ears were direct copies of Hunter's. He'd inherited Stephanie's nose, lips and chin. One dimple had made itself known so far.

It turned out that Stephanie had been wrong when she guessed at the sex of the baby she was carrying. Despite the stress she had experienced in the beginning of her pregnancy, Toby was born almost exactly on his due date right in the middle of October.

At first, Hunter was going to leave his son to his task. But his hazel eyes fixated on what his child was dressed in. So he walked the couple of feet to Toby, scooping him up off of the floor. He brought the baby to eye level with him.

Toby looked into the eyes that were a mirror image of his own, though he wasn't old enough to know that yet. Excited at being held in the air with his limbs unrestricted, he waved his arms up and down, happily babbling away at his father.

"STEPHANIE!" Hunter yelled, his voice echoing throughout the large house.

Toby quieted down and just looked at Hunter, his adorable brown eyes almost conveying confusion. His full, pink lips were slightly parted.

Upstairs, Stephanie felt her heart sink. Had something happened to one of the kids? She ran out of the bedroom and down the hallway at a sprint and went down the stairs as fast as she could.

When her feet hit the marble floor, she sped up and ran into the living room.

She was momentarily confused when she saw nothing out of the ordinary going on. Hunter was just holding Toby.

"What?" She asked and sucked in a desperate gulp of air. "What happened?"

"What." Hunter emphasized the word greatly. "Is. This?" He finished, holding the baby up higher and turning him to face his mother.

_Has he lost his memory or something?_ She wondered as she smiled at her cooing baby boy who was kicking his legs excitedly at her presence. "Uh, that's our youngest son. Toby."

Hunter sucked his teeth and lowered the baby. He narrowed his eyes at Stephanie, shifting Toby to just one arm. "Not that," he corrected.

Stephanie wasn't sure how she missed it. It was probably just because she thought she was running down here to see that one of the kids was unconscious, dismembered or bleeding half to death. But when Hunter grabbed a hold of the pink, frilly material and wiggled it, she couldn't help but snort out a laugh.

"This isn't funny, Stephanie," Hunter said sternly. "What is this crap?"

"I'm pretty sure that's a tutu," Stephanie said while she tried to quiet her laughter. Hunter was taking this very seriously and laughing probably wasn't helping him not be further insulted.

"Why is he wearing this? He's a _boy_, Steph!" He stated incredulously.

Unable to help herself, Stephanie snickered. "I know that, baby. Who do you think got him here?" She asked playfully. "I didn't dress him in that though," she said quickly as her husband glared at her.

"I'm gonna get to the bottom of this," he said with determination. "Mac! DJ! Get down here!"

"I'm sure you will, honey," Stephanie encouraged lightly and patted his shoulder before she moved to sit on the armrest of the couch.

Morgan would turn five next month, while Devin would turn four in three months. They ran down the stairs together, coming to a stop in front of their father.

Mac pointed at Toby and giggled. DJ simply scrunched up his face.

Hunter held the baby up for them to see. "Who did this?" He asked, getting right down to business.

Another laugh gave his daughter away as the culprit. This was probably the outfit from one of those damn life-size dolls she'd received as a present for Christmas.

Hunter sighed and sat Toby back down on the floor, shaking his head as the baby crawled away not seeming to care that he was still wearing the tutu.

"Wasn't me, Daddy," Devin answered.

Hunter nodded his head in acknowledgement, reaching out to ruffle his son's light brown curls. "Why did you put that on your little brother, Mac?"

"My doll is as big as Toby...I wanted to see if the tutu fit, Daddy," she told him innocently.

"Hi son!" Stephanie greeted enthusiastically as Toby finally made it over to her. She bent down to pick him up from the floor and stood him up in her lap. The baby smiled toothlessly and threw himself against her, his cheek rubbing hers.

Stephanie took the opportunity to start pulling the pink outfit off of him, before Hunter had a mental breakdown of some sort.

Hunter crouched down to his daughter's level and made sure he spoke gently so he didn't hurt her feelings. "Mac, we only put boy stuff on him, okay?" He tried. "You have dolls so that you can dress and style them however you want. Your baby brother isn't a doll, though. Only me and your Mom dress him unless you get our permission."

"Okay, Daddy," she said sweetly. "Are you mad at me?" She asked, her bluish hazel eyes widening and her lips pouting.

Hunter kissed her on top of the head and affectionately tugged at her curly ponytail. "No, sweetheart. Seeing your brother in a girly outfit just scared Daddy, that's all."

Mac giggled at her father and stepped a few feet away. "Funny Daddy," she commented as she climbed on the couch next to Stephanie, leaning her head against her mother's thigh. Stephanie placed her hand on the side of Morgan's head, rubbing gently.

Hunter shook his head. "DJ...man you've gotta watch out for your little brother. You have to protect him from the girls," he said.

"From Mommy and Mac?" Devin asked, looking at his Dad in confusion. His Mommy and sister were nice to him. They wouldn't do anything to hurt anybody. Would they?

"Hunter, that sounds terrible!" Stephanie chastised from the couch, smirking. "You're gonna make him afraid of us or something."

"Okay look, little guy...when Daddy isn't with you and Toby, you have to look after him. Make sure he's being a boy. Don't let the girls give him girl stuff to play with or dress him up in stuff like that," he amended, gesturing towards the pink tutu that Stephanie had thrown on the floor. "Can I trust you to do that?"

DJ nodded eagerly and Hunter smiled at him. "All right, good. You guys can go back to...whatever it was you were doing." Devin took off for the stairs and Mac jumped up from the couch. "Mac, take that - that thing with you," Hunter directed lightly before she could run off.

Mac grabbed the tutu and scurried up the stairs just as her younger brother did.

Hunter plopped down on the couch next to Stephanie with a sigh. "Leave them alone with the baby for ten minutes and this is what happens," he commented.

Stephanie shrugged, stood up and walked the restless, diaper-clad Toby over to his play pen. She placed him in and watched as he quickly crawled to the pile of brightly colored, shiny toys. "I don't know what was more funny and cute; Toby being dressed like that or your reaction to it," she laughed and began heading back over to the couch.

"My wife thinks our son is cute in ruffles and pink," Hunter muttered, sinking lower into the cushions. "I've failed as a husband and a father," he said despondently.

Even though she knew he was behaving exaggeratedly on purpose, she still thought back to the scariest time of her life and how Hunter had been so brave and selfless. While she'd been lying around screaming, crying and having panic attacks, he had stayed calm. He'd come up with plans. He'd been willing to risk his life to save her and the baby.

Blinking back her tears, she reached down and grabbed his hand, squeezing reassuringly. "You haven't failed," she disagreed. "I don't know anyone who's done a better job at either one."

"I'm glad you think so," he told her honestly.

"I know so," she countered with a smile.

Hunter grinned and swung his legs so that he was lying down on the couch, his head propped up by the armrest. He tugged Stephanie's hand until she moved to lie down against him. Once she was settled with her head on his chest, he just wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her even closer.

A year ago, there was a chance that this moment wouldn't have been possible. He might've been gone...or worse, Stephanie might have been taken from him and Toby may have never been born.

The thought was surreal, but hadn't been a farfetched potential outcome this time last year. Thinking about it made him appreciate his family that much more. He never wanted to waste a single day.

Distantly, he wondered how Randy Orton - the man who had sought to steal everything from him - was spending his days.

Separated from the Helmsley's by thousands of miles, Randy Orton lay confined to the plain, white bed. He'd been in and out of jail and mental facilities ever since being released from the hospital. He'd been deemed as mentally unfit to stand trial. After a couple of months he would seem to get better and he'd be sent back to prison while the courts tried him again. But ultimately he would relapse and disconnect from the reality of what he'd done.

Hunter and Stephanie were both pissed off whenever these rulings happened. But they were grateful that the sicko was still locked far away from them in some way. But each of them was disappointed because it was unlikely that someone in a mental hospital would kill Randy. In actual prison, he'd be killed or beaten within an inch of his life because inmates didn't take too kindly to guys who abused women or children.

His accomplices Cody and Ted had both taken plea deals for lesser charges. They were sentenced to eight years in prison and were required to serve at least half of that before being eligible for a parole hearing. The sentencing was so harsh because their crimes were committed in Texas.

Isabelle Shaw was thirty-five years old. She was a tall, lithe woman of a blended background. Her father was Puerto Rican and her mother was Senegalese. She'd married a man whose family was from Scotland and they had a five-year-old daughter together. Family gatherings were always diverse and interesting, to say the least but everyone got along great. She was one of the evening shift nurses, since her husband worked mornings. She sat beside Randy, attempting to spoon feed him some vegetables. Randy was being completely uncooperative. All he wanted to do was tell his story and defend his case.

He turned his head from the food while he twisted and turned on the bed.

"You have to eat," Isabelle informed him sternly, but in a concerned tone.

"When she comes for me, we're gonna eat _real _food!" He yelled. His voice didn't sound like it had before Hunter tried to strangle him to death. It always sounded raspy and hoarse. Combined with the labored breathing as a result of lung damage and his jawbone injury, he sounded nothing like his pre-injury self.

Isabelle blew out a breath, making her dark brown bangs move a little since the strands couldn't fit in her ponytail yet. "Randy if you don't eat we'll have to feed you through a tube," she said gently. "You don't want that, do you?"

"NO! I want you to leave me the fuck alone! I want you OUT!" His wrists struggled against the restraints and he tried to sit up. The muscles in his neck showed their strain with the effort. "I want - I want," he breathed out heavily. Getting worked up was always a bad thing. He always had to be sedated at some point because of his limited lung capacity. "I want Stephanie."

"Stephanie's not coming," she told him.

Randy's head snapped in her direction. His blue eyes were vivid and outraged. "YOU'RE A LIAR!" He screamed with his voice cracking. "She's - she's coming for me! She just has to get away...from him. From Triple H," he reasoned. "Then she's coming. She said - she said she loved me!"

Isabelle's piercing dark eyes stared at him sadly. In a way she felt bad for him. But because she was briefed on the terrible things he'd done and tried to do, most of that diminished. She was a woman and a parent so she could easily sympathize with what Stephanie Helmsley had gone through. But the bottom line was that Mr. Orton was mentally ill. He suffered from mental diseases such as severe antisocial, narcissistic, impulse and sadistic personality disorders. And those were just the most troubling ones.

Their job was to make him face reality and get him to a healthy mental state so that he could be tried in a court of law and sentenced for his crimes. The prosecutor for the case was literally throwing the entire damn book at him. If and when he was mentally competent to understand his charges and their implications, he would definitely get life in prison as half of his charges carried life sentences all on their own. In addition, some of the charges were from Texas.

For Stephanie alone, Randy was charged with assault, kidnapping, two counts of sexual battery, attempted rape and attempted murder. For Hunter, Randy was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon.

"She lied," Isabelle told him plainly. "She lied because you were threatening her. She had no choice."

"NO!" Randy screamed as he tried to sit up. "You're a filthy fucking liar! When I get out of here I'm gonna - I'm gonna choke the life out of you for lying on her! She loves me! SHE LOVES ME!"

"Orderlies!" She shouted down the hall.

Within seconds, two large men ran into the room. They each held down one of Randy's shoulders.

"GET OFF!" He yelled raspily as he struggled against them. "Get the hell off me!" He hissed.

Isabelle sighed and measured her solution in the syringe. "This is gonna sting a little," she told Randy in a calm voice.

"What's that? What're you doing?" He questioned, watching as she folded down the corner of his bottoms. She stuck the needle in his hip, injecting the sedative. "OW!" He yelled! "Ow, ow, ow!" He said as she finished and pulled the needle out.

"You get some rest now," she told him, gesturing that it was fine for the orderlies to release him now.

Randy's eyes rolled into the back of his head, but he still twisted and pulled against the restraints. He needed to get free. He needed to see Stephanie. He had to be with her. He just had to.

"She's...waiting for me," he said softly, feeling the drug begin to take its effects. "She - she loves me...they're all...liars! They're all liars."

Randy let out a strangled cry as he tried using all of his strength to get free one last time before slumping against the bed. Tears began to travel down his cheeks slowly. "Stephanie...loves me," he whispered before his eyes slid shut.


End file.
